More Than Friends
by ThuhJesheekuh
Summary: Mainly OC, but several familiar characters. If you like my work Tome of Lineage or Kearra's Children of the Gods, this story is for you. Iggy and Jiji both Garo in training develop as a couple. For the fluffalites in us all. Status: Retired.
1. Prologue

Okay, just so everyone knows and doesn't freak out and say, "Augh! You've ruined Tome of Lineage with your spoilers! Curse you, Selphie Louise!" this story will not in any way interfere with my masterpiece, Tome of Lineage. Previously, this would have been a spoiler to said story, but I've decided to change it due to a recent falling out with my partner in crime, Kearra. Her well-received story, Children of the Gods, was originally meant as introduction to these characters so that these stories (that I wrote over a year ago...) would not confuse people greatly. But because of this recent falling out, we have both changed the aimsof our stories. As such, a brief overview of what happened before this story is in order, since Children of the Gods can no longer serve that purpose (although many, if not all of these characters have been introduced in Children of the Gods). (Yes, this is the exact same spiel I posted at the beginning of "Tying the Knot" and "Making It Happen".)

"More Than Friends" this time centers around Iggy and Jiji, the two Garo in training from Children of the Gods. You'll also recall from "Making It Happen" (if you read it, in fact, I suggest that you go back and read "Tying the Knot" and "Making It Happen" before proceeding with this story) that Iggy was ready to propose to Jiji.Well, this story begins well before that and works its way to it (and hopefully beyond). In fact, this story begins right about at their exit from Children of the Gods. It includes, I think, all of the same characters as "Tying the Knot" and "Making It Happen."

"More Than Friends" is the only fiction in this group that is **not yet complete**. I've currently a case of writer's block on it, and my other stories are flowing (sort of), so it's not likely that "More Than Friends" will be updated soon or frequently. I also want to point out that it is in several different parts (thus far three) and these parts divide the story into different stages in the couple's relationship/lives.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

Me: Go ahead and read now.

* * *

Prologue

"Iggy, pick up the pace!"

Iggy struggled to climb up the rock face.

"Ignatius!"

"I'm trying!" Iggy struggled to say. His hands were bleeding through their bandages in places.

"Do or do not. There is no try." Iggy fought to not look at the master. Iggy continued to climb. "Come on, boy! You're holding up your partner!" This time Iggy looked up, following the rope that was tied around his waist up to the girl above him. Jiji was hanging onto the cliff side, waiting for him to get higher so that she would have some slack to climb with.

"Ignatius, you _are_ hopeless," the master said, shaking his head behind his hood and hopping down to the lower groups. He wasn't sure why the master was having such a problem. They were already farther above the other pairs. Though he supposed it had something to do with the fact that, while they were still farther than the others, they weren't as far ahead of them as they _could_ be… if Iggy wasn't so pathetic at this.

Jiji looked down at him. "Come on, Iggy. We're getting there," she said encouragingly. Iggy grimaced as he struggled to continue climbing. Jiji was easily the most able of their age group, the current class of Garo in training. This was probably why they had frowned on them when she and Iggy paired up in the beginning, because Iggy always held her back.

Hell, Iggy himself may have been just about the worst in their class if it weren't for all the help Jiji gave him. She always managed to pick up the extra slack if he couldn't quite get there. That's what best friends do though. They help each other when they can't carry on.

He finally reached the top, taking Jiji's hand as she pulled him over the precipice onto solid ground. He sighed as they sat down on a couple of boulders several yards from the edge. "That was really hard…" he breathed.

"First time for everything," Jiji said. "But hey! You got all the way up all on your own!"

Iggy gave her a small smile and laugh. "Yah, but really that shouldn't be something to be incredibly proud of. Anyone who can't do this stuff on their own doesn't belong here."

Jiji frowned slightly. "You go ahead and believe that if you want. I prefer to think it's the effort," she said.

"Well it doesn't really matter for you, does it? Seeing as you never need any help anyways," Iggy replied. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, thinking about his best friend and how she always did stuff on her own and in the best fashion. He thought about himself and how he so constantly was unable to complete the tasks set upon them as easily as he should have. He thought about how Jiji was always willing to help in those situations and still come out the best. She was always saving him…

He just wished that for once… he could be the one taking care of her…


	2. Chapter 1

Just as with "Tying the Knot" and "Making It Happen,"I'm just going to post the disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

**Part 1 **

Chapter 1

"_Sigh…_ You know, I'm actually pretty glad we didn't finish the assignment," Jiji said. She lay back on the blankets. They were incredibly comfortable compared to what they were used to. Back in Ikana, where the encampment was that they trained to become Garo, they had to sleep outside with no blankets, no pillows, nothing. Just them and the hard ground.

"Feh… It's more comfortable, at least," Iggy said from his position perpendicular to her.

Link lay on the other side of the fire with Yugi. A lot had happened between those two in the short time they explained Yugi existing. Link grinned over at them. "Personally, I'm _very_ glad you didn't complete your orders," he smirked. Yugi rolled her eyes and Jiji stuck her tongue out at him.

"Go to sleep, Hero, you never know when another assassin might be coming after you," Yugi said.

"Especially if we don't get back soon," Iggy said, staring up at the sky.

"Hmm?" Link and Yugi looked over at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" Link asked.

"I think he's referring to the fact that the Garo will probably send another couple of trainees before they decide to give up on you," Jiji replied. "Unless we go back to them with proof that _we _got the job done."

"I thought you guys were staying though?" Yugi said.

"As nice as this place is-," Jiji said.

"We have to go back," Iggy finished off, somewhat monotone. "We've put too much work into this training to give up on it now." Yugi nodded slowly.

"But what about the proof you need?" Link asked. "I'm sure I could just give it to you," he offered.

"Eh, nuh-uh," Jiji said.

"Why not?" Link inquired.

"Because they want your head…" Jiji answered slowly.

"Ah…" Link said, his hand drifting toward his neck. "What'll they do if you return and _haven't _killed me?"

"Er… I really don't know," Jiji said, almost nervously.

"They'll just chastise us," Iggy shrugged. "Maybe a bit of a beating, nothing too incredible though." '_They probably didn't expect us to do it anyway, seeing as I'm along…_' he thought.

"I don't know, Iggy…" Jiji said softly. "No one's ever actually failed to complete their field assignment… maybe it's worse than that…" She hadn't even thought of the idea of being punished for it. Now, thinking about it, she wasn't so sure on how wise it would be to return to Ikana after failing…

"Don't worry about it right now," Yugi said. "It's getting late. We should all go to sleep." She put her arm around Link as the two went to sleep. Jiji nuzzled into her blankets and stared at the fire in thought. However, she soon drifted off and fell asleep.

Iggy meanwhile remained awake, staring up at the sky in silence. He was lost in his own thoughts. He'd worked so hard and come so much farther than he would have thought possible in his training. The boy was not exactly a natural born fighter, and he'd for the most part had a lot of problems keeping up with the others in his class, at least until Jiji helped him. There was no way he could give up now. Everyone thought he was useless, a disgrace to their race. He _had _to prove them wrong! Even if he had to…

He glanced across the fire at Link. Could he really do that? Link had treated them so well even after they had attempted to kill him. Not to mention he was the greatest hero thus far in time, was he not? Could Iggy really kill him just to become a Garo? Did he even _want_ to become a Garo? Beyond proving that he could, what reasons did he have for becoming a Garo?

Iggy closed his eyes. _Jiji_. He didn't only want to become a Garo for himself. He wanted to become a Garo so that he could stop relying on her… and maybe she could rely on him.

Iggy sat up and pulled off the blankets. His sword was lying nearby. He picked it up and pulled it out of its scabbard, walking around the fire. He held it over Link's head, trying to make sure it wouldn't hurt Yugi. Bringing it up, Iggy froze, staring down at the man below him. Iggy tried to bring the sword down… He tried again and again, but he couldn't get his arm to move in that downward arc.

He sighed, returning to his side of the fire and sheathing the sword and dropped it on the ground again. He sat down on the blankets and pressed his palms against his eyes groaning. "What am I thinking…?" he murmured to himself.

Jiji stirred nearby and rolled over, looking at him. "Iggy?" she mumbled sleepily. She sat up and turned to him, rubbing at her eyes a bit. "Iggy, what are you doing? You should try to get some sleep."

Iggy shook his head. "I can't sleep," he said, not even uncovering his eyes.

Jiji cocked an eyebrow at this and finished rubbing her eyes. "…Rupee for your thoughts?" she asked.

He shook his head again. "Probably not a good idea…" he replied softly. Jiji stared at him for a moment or so longer. A few seconds later she sat next to him on his blankets.

"Blue for your dreams?"

Iggy removed his hands from his face and looked at her. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it and looked away again. "You wouldn't understand…" he said.

"Wouldn't understand what?" Jiji inquired. Iggy remained silent. "…Well, duh, I'm not gonna understand. Not unless you tell me," she cajoled.

Iggy sighed. "I wanna be a Garo…" He fell silent.

"And?"

"'And' what?"

"And everyone in our class wants to be a Garo. What's different about you that I wouldn't understand?"

"…Why…"

"'Why' what?"

"No, that's it. That's how I'm different, because of _why_ I want to be a Garo." He went silent again.

"…Are you going to tell me why?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"…It's kind of embarrassing…"

"Oh, Iggy!" Jiji exclaimed exasperatedly. "Do you honestly think I'm gonna care?"

"…Actually yes…"

"Rrr!" she growled. Jiji stood and went back to her blanket. "You're incredibly stubborn. Do you know that?" She lay down and pulled the blankets over her. "I'm going to sleep, and I suggest you do the same thing." She spoke no more but went straight to sleep.

Iggy sighed and looked over at the fire, which now was nothing more than a few dying embers. He lay down as well and folded his arms behind his head, staring straight up at the sky. He tried closing his eyes, but nothing worked. Sleep was just not an option. An hour or so before dawn he stood up again and moved over to Jiji, lightly shaking her.

"Jij? Jiji!" he whispered.

"Mmn…" she moaned. "Fimormints…" she mumbled, words running together. Iggy frowned and gave her a good poke in the arm. She jumped, "M'awake!" She looked around and saw it was still dark. "Why am I awake?"

"Cause we're leaving," Iggy said. "Come on. Let's go back to Ikana."


	3. Chapter 2

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 2

"We- we're what?" Jiji said confusedly. "Did you just say-?"

"We're going home, back to Ikana and the Garo encampment," Iggy repeated, gathering the few things they'd brought and taking the first few steps across the field. Jiji fought the blankets off of her and stood up.

"Not that I wouldn't _love_ to go home or anything," she said following him. "But do we have a reason for leaving so suddenly?"

"Because the longer we wait, the more likely we'll be punished," Iggy answered, continuing to walk and now handing Jiji her own stuff.

"Iggy," she said, taking her things. "We're already going to be punished."

"All right, then how long we wait will deem the _severity _of our punishment," Iggy corrected shortly.

"Iggy, do you have any idea what they do to trainees who don't complete their assignment? Not to mention associate with outsiders, divulge secrets of the Garo trade, _reveal_ their identities!"

"No, what do they do, Jiji?" Iggy asked, though it was clear he really didn't care.

"I don't know either!" Jiji exclaimed throwing her arms up as she stepped in front of him. "Iggy! For all we know, going back to Ikana could be suicide! By breaking those rules we could have been signing our own death warrants!"

"But we don't know that for sure!" Iggy responded, walking around her and continuing. "We could be signing said death warrants by remaining here evading punishment! Don't you think they'd be more lenient if we went back and accepted the consequences?"

"I don't think it matters either way!" Jiji answered to his back as he kept walking ahead of her, arriving at the forest. "I _do_ think we have a better chance of surviving if we stay here where we _don't_ have the entire Garo race in one spot. If we stay here Link and the others may even be able to help us!"

"I don't need their help!" Iggy shouted, turning around to face her as he reached the entrance to the Lost Woods. "I can take care of myself here, there, anywhere! Now come on! The longer we wait the worse situation we'll be in!"

"I already made my decision," Jiji replied. "I'm not going back to get killed. I'm staying here."

"Jiji!"

"No, Iggy!" Jiji retorted. "Dammit, do you even realize I never _wanted _to be a Garo? Everyone saw that I could be and automatically thought that I wanted to be! Well, screw it! This is _my_ chance to get away from that hellhole once and for all! If _you_ wanna go back and hand your carcass over to the Garo masters, you go right on ahead. But I'm staying right here!" She crossed her arms and planted her feet.

"Maybe I will!" Iggy rejoined.

"Then go ahead!"

"Fine!"

"Later!"

"Not likely!"

"Argh!" Jiji shouted and turned on her heel, stomping back toward the field. Iggy watched her for a second and then scowled darkly.

"Fine then! Who needs you!" he called after her. She didn't respond and he kicked at a nearby tree root, surprisingly not hurting himself. Then he started through the maze of trees and shrubbery on his way back to Termina.

"Pfft… underestimate me, will they… I oughta go back and get Link's head _now_… see how Jiji likes _that_… And they thought I would be the one with the problems… _I'm_ the one coming back, aren't I? _She's_ the one giving it all up!"

He continued grumbling like this all the way through the forest. Finally he reached the entrance to the clock tower and entered Termina. He would have a disadvantage, trying to sneak home in the day, but he'd manage it. He'd _prove_ he could manage it, if it meant killing every witness on the way.

Iggy stole up the ramp and the underground river to the ground level. He opened the door a small crack and peered out into South Clock Town, watching for anyone who would see him. He became satisfied and darted out the doors, moving from hiding spot to hiding spot as he made his way through East Clock Town to Termina Field and then Ikana.

"Heh heh," he chuckled to himself. "I'd like to see any of the other trainees sneak back to Ikana from Clock Town in broad daylight."

"Awfully cocky, aren't we?" Iggy jumped and turned around, facing a young man in a Garo robe… no, a trainee robe.

"Jeez, man! You scared me half to death," Iggy said, clutching his hand to his chest.

"Hmm… better get that second half done before I fail," the trainee said.

"Huh?" Iggy's eyes widened in horror when his peer drew a sword. "Aheh heh… yeah, that's real funny… _uber_ funny. But the, uh, joke's over now, so you can just… put that bad boy away and let me go tell the instructor about Jiji," he tried to laugh it off.

"Nah, that'll be my partner's job after he hunts her down," the boy said humorlessly. He spun the sword in his hand as he took a few steps toward Iggy. "I guess you forgot or maybe didn't know to begin with- which I _especially_ wouldn't put past you, Iggy- what they do to tyros that fail their field assignment."

"Yeah, that'd be me," Iggy said uneasily as he backed slowly away from the boy, matching his pace.

"Yeah… they make them the successful tyros' next target!" the boy shouted as he lunged at Iggy with his sword.

"Shit!" Iggy exclaimed jumping back and drawing his own sword. He blocked the boy's attacks for a minute or two, but because he'd been caught off guard he was quickly disarmed. Iggy stared at the steel blade that was being held inches from his nose. '_Dammit…Jiji might have been right… but I wonder if this guy's partner got to her anyway…?_' He stared the boy down for a minute. "You gonna run that thing through my skull or not?" he asked boldly.

"Hmm…" the boy looked at his sword. "Nah," he replied, lowering his arm, holding the sword at his side. Iggy sighed in relief. "I prefer blunt force trauma!" the boy added as he swung the side of the sword at Iggy's head.

"Wha-!" Iggy leaned away from the swing but was still caught by the boy's sword, falling over and hitting his head on a nearby rock. The boy stood over him and smirked as Iggy's eyes closed, warm blood flowing down his cheek.

"A… plus…" he said before sheathing the sword. He smirked again, "There's some proof he couldn't make it as a Garo. He left a corpse." Feeling bold, the boy reached into his robes and took out a bomb. "I'll just clean up my mess then." He was about to kneel down to light the fuse and leave the bomb next to Iggy when he heard the telltale sound of an arrow being drawn.

His eyes narrowed and he put the bomb away, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. When he heard the arrow released, he quickly spun, unsheathing his sword as he dodged out of the way. Keeping the sword raised, he gazed over at the archer and frowned, narrowing his eyes.

'_Her…_'


	4. Chapter 3

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 3

Some time after she'd parted ways with Iggy, Jiji found her rage ebbing away. She dropped herself against a tree along the Zora River and sighed. '_I could _so_ settle here,_' she thought to herself. '_Screw Iggy. Let him go back to Ikana… let him become a Garo… like I ever cared…_' Closing her eyes she began to drift to sleep again, lulled by the sound of the water flowing through the river.

When she awoke it was to a different sound. Softly padding feet making their way toward her. It was a soft sound, not as that of one wearing boots as all of her friends did. She knew not whether this person was a friend but she knew she did not know them. Her hand drifted slowly to the bow across her back.

As the footsteps got nearer, they paused and another sound was added: the whisper of a blade slowly being drawn from its sheath. '_Not friend!_' Jiji rolled away just as the blade swung over her head, getting lodged in the trunk of the tree momentarily. Fast as lightning, Jiji leapt to her feet, twirling to face her foe as she yanked the bow from her back and knocked an arrow. Her eyes widened as she faced a young man in trainee robes, much like the kind she'd worn when she attacked Link.

"What the hell…?" she breathed.

The boy frowned behind his hood, extricating the sword from the wood, splinters falling to the ground from the notch he'd made. Jiji watched him for a few moments, never lowering the bow, all the time waiting for him to say something. "Well…?" she asked when he didn't.

"'Well' what?" the boy asked.

"What are you doing here, and attacking _me_ no less," Jiji expanded.

"Heh…" the boy chuckled. "I don't have to explain myself to a failure like you."

Jiji scowled at him, narrowing her eyes. "For your information, I do not fail: I choose not to succeed," she said coolly. "I would remind you that you're in just as much a predicament as I. Tick me off and I will not hesitate to release this arrow and as many more as I have to in order to defend myself," she threatened. "Now tell me what you're doing here."

The boy rolled his eyes behind his hood. "If you say so… I guess I'll give you the benefit of at least knowing why you're about to die," he said. "But the elders sent myself and my partner to kill you and Iggy."

"Oh, yeah. That tells me a hell of a lot," Jiji sneered. "Care to tell me _why_ they want me and Iggy dead? I know I at least left the Garo. I would think Iggy would have explained that when he got to Ikana."

"Feh, I doubt if Iggy'll even make it to Ikana," the boy said. "You can't just walk away from the Garo. We're a clan built on secrets and clandestine. We trust no one to keep our secrets, and thus if you become an outsider, you will be killed, along with any knowledge you may have had of us."

"And why Iggy? He went back. He didn't quit," Jiji replied.

"He failed, and failure is not condoned among our society," the tyro answered. "You claim to choose not to succeed, but Iggy does not have that luxury. And even if he did, it is not his place to choose where he succeeds and fails. The masters told you to kill the hero of time and you did not. That is why he is probably already dead… though I wouldn't have been surprised if a skullkid had killed him on your way here," he added with a smirk.

Jiji's eyes flashed dangerously and she released the arrow. The tyro started, but raised his sword in time to deflect the arrow. It bounced off the blade and landed in the tree trunk. He glanced at the arrow and turned back to Jiji, crying out as he realized she was delivering a roundhouse kick to him. After her foot crashed into side, audibly cracking a couple of ribs, he flew into the tree, hitting his head and slumping to the ground unconscious, dropping his sword.

Jiji grabbed up his sword and took off across Hyrule Field toward the forest. '_Iggy doesn't know they're after his life…! I gotta stop him from getting to Ikana!_'

Several hours later, Jiji had arrived in Ikana, not bothering with stealth, but worrying all about speed. Once she reached the canyon she ventured further in and began heading toward the encampment, figuring she'd run into them at some point along the way. "_A…plus…_" Jiji turned a corner, eyes widening as she ducked behind a boulder.

'_No…!_' she thought when she saw Iggy lying there, the young trainee gloating over him. '_He… he can't be…!_' As she continued watching, Jiji saw the tyro take out a bomb and bend down to light it. Anger flared inside Jiji. '_Hell no!_' She stepped out from behind the boulder and drew an arrow, aiming at the novice.

Apparently the boy heard her, because he put the bomb away and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword. Jiji didn't wait any longer and released the arrow. The boy blocked it, but he now faced her, sword still raised. Clearly he had a few negative emotions manifested about her, but it soon became apparent that he was smirking behind his hood and he chuckled.

"What the hell do you think you're laughing at?" Jiji demanded coldly.

He continued snickering for a moment more before answering. "I was just thinking about the fact that no tyro had ever failed their field assignment before, but suddenly we were about to have three failures…" he answered. Jiji narrowed her eyes further. "Though I guess it's only two afterall."

"It'll be four if you don't explain what you're talking about right now," Jiji said.

"_I'm_ not gonna tell you, but I'm sure my partner is willing to show you," the boy said.

"Partner? I took out your partner back in Hyrule," Jiji scorned. Her ear twitched slightly and her eyes narrowed. "…Or did I!" she shouted as she turned around, ready to send another kick to the sneaky tyro. This time, however, the boy raised his sword. Jiji cried out in pain as her leg came to contact with the cold steel. '_Bastard had another sword…!_' She landed, but before she could fall to the ground on her newly injured leg, the boy moved the sword in a horizontal slice across her stomach.

Jiji bit her lip in pain, her teeth threatening to pierce through the skin. She slumped to the canyon floor and stared up at her attacker. "Bastard…" she sputtered before falling forward, dust flying up around her as she landed, sprawled out in the dirt.

The tyro that had taken out Iggy walked over and gave his partner five. "Well done. You had me worried when she actually showed up here," he said.

"She did get me back in Hyrule," the second said. "I have the broken ribs to prove that. I just couldn't catch up until she reached here."

"It doesn't matter," the former said. "We took them out. Time to go back to the encampment and report to the masters."

The latter nodded his head. "What about their bodies?" he asked, pointing at the lifeless Iggy and Jiji. They looked at each other for a moment and came to a silent agreement. Not long after, Iggy and Jiji were floating down the river through Ikana Canyon, and the two nameless tyros were returning to the Garo.

They had succeeded.


	5. Chapter 4

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 4

'_Useless…_'

'_Failure…_'

'_You'll never amount to anything…_'

'_GET UP, IGNATIUS!_'

"Wha-!" Iggy's eyes shot open. His body was half-submerged in shallow water, his head face down in the mud. He slowly pushed himself up, wincing at the pain in his head. The wound was still bleeding slightly, but luckily the hit had not struck home. The tyro had been aiming for the temple but missed, succeeding only in knocking Iggy out.

'_The tyro!_' Iggy remembered with a start. "Show yourself, you bastard! I'm not done with you yet!" he shouted as he leapt to his feet. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as he slipped in the mud and landed on his rear. This gave him a chance to see his surroundings. It was twilight; the sun would rise any minute. He wasn't even in Ikana anymore. The river had carried him all the way to the swamp, depositing him in the pool surrounding the witch's potion shop. Now he remembered using the river to get here a long time ago. He and Jiji had been instructed to steal ghost tears from the old hags. Man, were the witches pissed!

Iggy would have laughed at the memory had he not noticed the conspicuous absence of the roaring of the waterfall that would have deposited him there. He turned to where the cataract should have been and saw just a bit of trickling water. Following it to the top, Iggy's eyes widened as he saw what was obstructing the flow of water.

"Jiji!" he exclaimed. '_She's going to drown if she's stuck up there much longer!_' Thinking quickly, Iggy took his bow, which thankfully hadn't been washed away or lost, and powered up an ice arrow. He fired several of them up the wall next to the waterfall, creating handholds for him to climb up. Without another moment's hesitation he scaled the wall, ignoring the new pain in his hands: the water on them was not reacting well with the ice.

Iggy reached the top faster than he ever did in any of his training. Carefully, he extricated Jiji from the water and held her with one arm as he dropped to the water below, thankfully actually keeping his hold on her. The waterfall began flowing again, dropping gallons of water on them. Iggy carried Jiji out of it and laid her down on dry ground.

"Jij! Jiji, wake up! Come on, Jiji, get up!" Iggy said shaking her slightly. He felt her wrist and would have sighed in relief for the pulse he felt if it hadn't been so weak. She was incredibly pale, likely having to do with blood loss as he noticed the wounds on her leg and stomach: holding his hand over her nose and mouth he didn't feel much, if any, breathing. "Dammit!" he cursed looking around, as though hoping someone would appear to help him. Iggy looked down again and pressed his hands to her chest, trying to get her heart pumping.

"Dammit! Why'd you come here anyway, huh! You were right all along! I shouldn't have come back here! Why'd you have to come too!" he rambled as he tried to revive her. "You're supposed to be the smart one, and the strong one, and, dammit, if it had to be one of us that died and one of us that lived then you should have been the live one too!" He gave a few extra hard presses and finally pounded on her chest in frustration. "Don't you die on me!"

Suddenly Jiji started coughing, water forced from her lungs. Iggy's heart skipped a beat as he turned her onto her side. She continued coughing for a few more seconds before water finally spilled from her lips. Finally she began gasping for air and rolled back onto her back. After taking a few deep breaths, her eyes opened a bit and focused on Iggy. "Iggy…?" she whispered.

"Jiji!" he breathed in relief. "Gods, you had me worried there! I thought you were going to…" He trailed off, holding his hand to his forehead. Iggy looked down at her again and realized she still wasn't in great shape. "Your stomach…"

"I… I'm fine," Jiji said tiredly, trying to sit up, but crying out in pain as her hand reflexively went to her midsection.

"You're not…" Iggy replied as Jiji laid back again. He looked up at the waterfall. "But we can't stay here… it's too close to Ikana… and the Garo."

"Anywhere in Termina is too close to the Garo…" she agreed, nodding her head slowly, her lids half closed. "We gotta get out of here… back to Hyrule."

"Except that you can't go anywhere like that…" A cucco crowed in the distance and Iggy realized the sun had finally risen. Iggy looked around. His eyes fixed upon the teapot shaped house above them and an idea formed in his head. He glanced around and spotted some tall plants nearby. Standing up, he moved behind Jiji, taking her beneath the arms.

"Whoa… what're you doing…?" she asked wearily, almost incoherently.

"Just hold on," he answered as he pulled her to said plants, hiding her amongst them. She nodded slightly and began to drift to sleep again. Iggy let her do so and sloshed through the water to the potion shop. He quietly climbed the ladder and peered through the window. His eyes widened and he darted around the side of the house as Koume shot out the front door on her broom.

"I can't believe Kotake let me oversleep!" she screeched in anger. "There's no call for it! Just because I singed the end of her broom… it was an accident!" She circled the house once and flew off in the direction of the tourist center. Iggy watched to make sure she was gone before moving inside the house.

Once inside, he went to the back and began rummaging through potions, vaguely remembering where everything had been last time he was there. "Crap… they rearranged everything…" he muttered to himself, running his eyes over the many shelves. "Nothing…" he muttered.

"Dammit, Koume! I may have let you oversleep, but going out of the way to bring your boat tour through my aquatic garden is just taking things too far!" Iggy's eyes widened as he heard Kotake approaching the house. He glanced around and dove through a nearby door just as Kotake burst into the potion shop.

Iggy heard her stomp around the shop and begin rummaging through cabinets and shelves. He turned around and realized he was in their bedroom. There were more shelves of potions and ingredients lining the walls. His eyes lit up when he spotted it: a large carafe of red potion. "Yes-!" he nearly exclaimed but threw his hand to his mouth staring at the door.

A jar broke in the next room and Kotake cursed loudly. "Damn that brat! None of this would have happened if she could have kept her fire powers away from my broom!" Iggy quickly grabbed a ladle and a bottle from the counter nearby and lifted the lid from the red potion. He dipped the ladle in and spooned some potion into the bottle.

Suddenly, however, when it was about a quarter of the way full, he dropped the spoon, creating a loud clanging sound. "Shit!" he exclaimed, reaching down as he tried to silence it, but only succeeding in knocking over about five more vials _and the red potion_, all of which crashed to the floor noisily. "No!"

"What was that?" he heard Kotake say in the next room. His eyes widened as he listened. Footsteps. And they were coming toward the bedroom! Iggy grabbed the bottle and a cork and ran across the room.

"Who's there!" Kotake demanded as she slammed open the door, her wand ready and charged with an ice spell. She skimmed over the room with her eyes, looking for the source of the noise. A series of broken glass on the floor next to the counter, but nothing that could have knocked it over. "Now what could have caused this mess?" Kotake asked.

Iggy's breathing was rapid as he hid beneath the window. "Ooh… I'll bet it was Koume's doing!" he heard the witch say. "She never puts things away properly!" She muttered a spell, causing the broken glass to disappear and then left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Iggy heard her gather a few things in the shop and then the _fwoosh_ as she took off for Southern Swamp.

Iggy sighed in relief before he looked at the pitiful sample of red potion he'd managed to bottle. "Urg… this isn't nearly enough to heal Jiji…" he said to himself. He glanced in the window again and groaned at the fact there was no more red potion. Dropping to the pool below, Iggy sloshed back to where he'd left Jiji.


	6. Chapter 5

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Jiji," Iggy said, giving her a gentle shake. "Jiji, wake up."

"Nnng…" Jiji groaned. "Iggy, I'm cold…" Her eyes opened slowly and she watched him for a moment before they slowly began to fall shut again.

"No, no, no!" Iggy said, giving her another shake, her eyes opening again. "Come on, Jij. You gotta stay awake. Come on. Drink this," he added, uncorking the bottle. He sat her up and held the rim to her lips, tilting the bottle and draining its contents down her throat. Jiji swallowed hard and color instantly returned to her cheeks.

"Ugh… I forgot how awful that stuff tastes…" Jiji said as she sat up, hand going to the wound in her stomach.

"You're okay!" Iggy exclaimed in relief.

"To some degree," Jiji answered, wincing slightly. "I think that fixed the blood loss problem, and that's about it…" She looked at Iggy again and her eyes widened. "Iggy! You're alive!" She touched his arm and stared in disbelief.

"Of course I'm alive," Iggy replied.

"Oh, gods! I thought you were dead!" Jiji exclaimed. "When I caught up to you and the Garo in training, you were lying on the ground and not moving. There was blood all over the side of your head. I thought for sure you'd…"

Iggy shook his head. "He was aiming for the temple but missed. I was just knocked out is all." Jiji nodded her head slowly, unable to get over her relief. "Did that tyro do this to you too?" Iggy asked, indicating her injuries.

Jiji shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Twas his partner. He came after me in Hyrule… I thought I'd taken care of him there, but apparently he followed me back to Ikana. Bastard snuck up behind me and I landed a roundhouse kick in his sword and he sliced me across the stomach," she sneered.

"But why'd you come back here anyway?" Iggy asked.

"You don't think I'd let you go back to your death all by yourself, do you?" Jiji replied. "The one that hunted me down told me that his partner was going to kill you, so I had to try to catch you."

Iggy nodded slowly. "Thanks… and I'm sorry. This wouldn't have happened if I'd listened to you and stayed in Hyrule."

Jiji shook her head. "Don't beat yourself up," she said. "We had it coming either way…" They sat in silence for a moment before they heard the sound of the witches screeching far in the distance. Something about Koume not touching the potions in weeks. Kotake not knowing whom else could have made the mess. Silence for a few seconds before:

"_GITs!_" Iggy and Jiji's eyes widened and they turned to look at each other. Gits was what the sorceress sisters called Garo in training ever since they began stealing things from their potion shop.

"We have to get out of here. If they find us, they'll kill us for sure!" Iggy said. Jiji nodded and tried to stand, but collapsed on her wounded leg, crying out in pain.

"I can't walk," she said. "There wasn't enough potion for that…!"

"Well, how else are we gonna-?" Iggy stopped short and looked down at Jiji. "Jij… put your arm around my neck," he said, stooping to her level.

"Um, okay? Why?" Jiji asked, complying. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as Iggy put his arm around her. "What the hell are you doing!"

"Getting you out of here," he said, standing them both up. She leaned on him for support as they hurried from the area.

"Are you kidding me?" Iggy stared at the Trading Post owner incredulously. "You don't have _any_ red potion?"

"Nope. I was expecting a delivery on potions this morning, but the old witch that runs the swamp potion shop never showed," the man answered. "It's not like the old bat."

"Oh…" Iggy said slowly, glancing at Jiji, who had sat on a stool at the table. "Well do you have anything else I could use to heal someone?"

"Nope," the man shook his head. "Nothing. You might consider-." He was cut off by a knocking in his backroom. "Wait there a minute," he said before disappearing through a door behind the counter. "_Oh, there you are!_" Iggy heard him say to his visitor. "_Did you bring the potions_?" Iggy and Jiji each paled.

"_No, I didn't bring the potions_," they heard Kotake's voice. "_Some stupid GITs from the Garo encampment broke into my shop and broke the whole of my red potion supply. It'll be another few days before I get anymore made._"

"_That long? Jeez, those bastards have the worst timing! I've just got a couple of kids in the shop looking to buy some red potion_," the shop owner's voice answered.

"_Kids? …What'd they look like?_" Kotake's voice asked.

"_I dunno, couple of teenagers. Clothes were identical, um… khaki shirts, brown pants-._"

"_You idiot! That's what GITs wear!_" Kotake's voice screeched.

"_What! You mean I have a couple of Garo sitting right there in my shop?_" They both burst from the backroom and into the store. Iggy and Jiji were nowhere to be seen… and neither were a box of bandages or a length of terry cloth. "Goddamn it! I've been robbed!" he shouted, pounding his fist on the counter.

Iggy and Jiji meanwhile had escaped the shop quickly when they heard Kotake in the backroom. Jiji's leg had begun bleeding at some point when they started walking again. Iggy had grabbed a box of bandages and terry cloth so that they could at least address that issue. The two managed to make it to the clock tower and out to the forest before anyone could sick the soldiers on them. Finding a small pool of water, they finally stopped and set out to clean and bandage Jiji's wounds.

They sat in silence as Jiji took the terry cloth to her leg and stomach. Iggy stood by watching quietly. Jiji was having trouble with her leg because she had to bend it in a strange position. After watching her struggle and wince when she rubbed it the wrong way, Iggy finally sighed and walked over to Jiji. "Here, lemme help…" he said quietly, taking the terry cloth.

Jiji was silent as she watched Iggy clean her leg almost expertly and then bandage both wounds with impressive skill. "You're pretty good at that," Jiji said as he finished wrapping the bandage around her stomach.

Iggy gave a small shrug. "I wasn't very good at combat and fighting… figures my skills would be at the opposite end of the spectrum…" he answered as he tied off the bandage. Jiji watched as he crawled back a short distance and sat down. "I guess everyone was right… there's no way I ever could have become a Garo."

"Iggy, that's not true," Jiji said.

"Sure it is," Iggy replied. "I could barely keep up in our training, easily taken out of any competition. Only reason I made it as far as I did was because you partnered up with me…"

"You would have made it without me being your partner," Jiji said. "It may have been a bit more difficult, but I think you could have done it…" Iggy rolled his eyes, sighing. "Until you reached the field assignment."

"See? Even you expected me to fail that," Iggy said.

"Yes and no…" Jiji answered. "I think you would have been _able_ to kill whoever they sent you after… if you weren't you…" Iggy looked at her questioningly. "This is why neither of us would ever have made it as Garo, Iggy," Jiji said. "Unlike the rest of them… even our own parents… we have decent consciences. Any other Garo could kill any random person- man, woman, child- and not bat an eyelash. But you or me, we'd never be able to live it down. I think I'd have a little more tolerance to it than you, but still."

"So basically you're saying we're both weak-minded, myself more so than you?" Iggy said skeptically.

"No, I'm saying we're both strong-minded, and yes, you more so than me," Jiji answered. "And not only do you have a stronger mind than the other Garo, you have a good heart."

"…" Iggy mulled that over for a second. "…A good heart?" he asked.

"Yes, a good heart," Jiji repeated.

Iggy nodded his head slowly. "…Do you have any idea how cheesy that sounds?" he smirked. Jiji seemed halfway startled by this statement but quickly narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Not nearly as cheesy as some of the jokes you make," she came back.

"Well that would just be my 'good heart' trying to make light of a dark situation," he replied.

"_Any_ situation," Jiji corrected, smirking.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You know you think I'm funny. No matter how corny it may be you almost always laugh."

"_Almost_ always." They snickered quietly for a minute when suddenly Iggy yawned loudly. "Tired?" Jiji asked.

"…Practically carrying your behind around all day, hell yeah I'm tired," Iggy responded. Jiji shook her head exasperatedly. "No, but really. I haven't slept since that tyro knocked me unconscious. I really do need the sleep."

"Makes sense," Jiji said, looking skyward. "It's after sundown."

Iggy shook his head disbelievingly. "Amazing how you can just sit there and not notice when it gets dark around you." Jiji nodded her head in agreement. "Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep," he added, lying down. "Think we'll be okay without a fire tonight?"

"I think we'll manage," Jiji answered, lying down as well, careful to lie on her back. She stared up through the canopy to the sky above. She realized that they were sleeping bareback on the ground just like when they were Garo in training. "Iggy, make me a promise," she said.

"What kind of promise?" he yawned, using his arms as a pillow.

"Promise that once we get out of here, we'll never sleep outside with nothing but the hard ground again," she said.

"Right…" Iggy answered drowsily. Jiji nodded and closed her eyes. "I'll make sure to find us some nice soft mud next time…"


	7. Chapter 6

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 6

"This is getting really ridiculous…" Jiji said. The two of them had been wandering in the forest for _days_- they weren't even sure how many anymore. For all they knew they could've been in there five days or five weeks. It was horribly sad how long it was taking…

"I know we saw that tree stump yesterday," Iggy said, glaring at the familiar spot. He shook his head, growling slightly. He helped Jiji to the stump, still having to support her because of the wounds, and sat her down. "How's the leg?" he asked.

"Well, it still hurts like shit," Jiji said matter-of-factly. "Is that a bad thing?" she added sarcastically.

"Likely so," Iggy answered. He undid the bandages and took a look at the wound, which was finally barely even starting to scar. "It'll never heal if we don't get out of here and get it some proper attention," he said, retying the bandages. "Not to mention I'm getting tired of eating roasted Deku nuts every meal of the day."

"Agreed," Jiji concurred. Iggy helped her to stand again and they started off again.

"We can't go on like this…" Two more days had passed and they had not found the end of the forest nor any signs that they were getting near to their destination. Iggy was still supporting Jiji through the forest.

Suddenly he tripped over a rock and they both cried out as they dropped to the ground in a heap. "How can we not be near Kokiri?" Jiji asked, struggling to sit up. "Even with me being half crippled it shouldn't have taken us this long to get back." Iggy nodded, but suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly, standing. "I mean, shouldn't we have found some kind of sign of something by now?"

"Shhh…" Iggy said, holding his hand up to silence her as he strained his ears.

"'Shhh' what?" Jiji asked.

"Shhh!" Iggy repeated. Jiji silenced skeptically while Iggy continued listening. He grinned from ear and began humming Saria's song.

"Why are you humming that song?" Jiji asked.

"Because I can hear it!" Iggy responded, pulling her to her feet. "Just listen, Jij!" Jiji was silent for a moment until her eyes lit up. "Let's go!" Iggy exclaimed as he started pulling her along in the direction of the sound.

"Iggy, slow down a bit!" Jiji said. "We're not home free yet!" The music was getting louder.

"We may as well be! Come on! I wanna get out of this for-!" he was cut off when he ran into something and fell back, once again taking Jiji with him. "Ow… What the…?" They each looked up into the glowering face of a Stalfos.

The stalfos bellowed at them and raised his sword to strike. "Shit!" they exclaimed trying to get away, but suddenly the Stalfos burst into flames and fell to pieces. Iggy and Jiji looked around uncertainly.

"You guys are pretty damn lucky. You know that?" They turned their heads and saw none other than Kage.

"Kage! Thank the gods!" Jiji grinned.

"So we _are_ back in Hyrule then?" Iggy asked.

"Mm-hmm," Kage answered, nodding his head. He helped Iggy to his feet but frowned when he finally spotted Jiji's wounds. "How'd you manage that?" he asked somewhat quietly.

Iggy and Jiji glanced at each other. "Got attacked on the way back," Jiji replied. Kage nodded slowly, not sure he really believed her.

"Well, I'll take you to my house and we'll fix you up there," he said, picking her up. He started walking and Iggy followed. "Back from where anyway?" he inquired as he led them through Lost Woods. "You two've been gone for at least a week and a half now. We thought you might've gone home for good."

They glanced at each other again. "No, we actually were lost in here for the most part," Iggy answered. "Not to mention it's hard to cover any distance when I'm carrying her around." Jiji rolled her eyes and Kage gave a light chuckle.

"A lot's happened since you were gone," he said.

"Like what?" Jiji asked. Kage frowned slightly, memory not sitting well with him.

"You'll know it when you see it…" he replied. Jiji nodded her head slowly. At that point they entered a large clearing. A wooden structure that reminded Iggy and Jiji of the house at Romani Ranch stood at its center.

"Like that?" Iggy said and Kage smirked slightly.

"That's a nice house," Jiji commented.

"Thanks, I built it myself," Kage said.

"_You_ built that?" Iggy asked incredulously.

"Do you find that hard to believe?" Kage smirked. Iggy's mouth closed shut. "Yeah, I actually built it for Selphie," Kage explained as they crossed the clearing to the house.

"I thought she was going to go back to her own time?" Jiji said confusedly as Kage fished inside the sleeve of his kimono and produced a key. Before he could use it though, the door opened. And behind it stood a very much grown up Selphie. Iggy and Jiji's eyes widened.

"Well… she did and she didn't," Kage said.

Selphie looked on in bemuse until she realized what was going on, at which point she put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "It's a long story…" Which they then went on to explain.

**End Part 1**


	8. Chapter 7

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

**Part 2**

Chapter 7

"Urk… Iggy?"

"Yeah, Jij?"

"You're breaking your promise."

"What promise?"

"The one where you said we'd never sleep outside on the ground again."

"Who's on the what now?"

"You promised we'd never sleep outside on the hard ground again."

Iggy sat up from his lying position by the small fire and looked across to where Jiji was lying. "If I recall, Jiji, your words had been, and I quote, 'Promise that once we get out of here, we'll never sleep outside with nothing but the hard ground again.'"

"Yes, exactly," Jiji replied as she also sat up. "So why are we still-?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Iggy cut her off. "_You_ are the one that said that. I did not. Furthermore, we are not without anything but the hard ground. We have blankets." He smirked over at her and Jiji rolled her eyes, frowning slightly.

"I suppose you find our rootless existence appealing then, do you?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, which took Iggy aback a little.

"Well… maybe not… _appealing_… per se… tolerable, I guess…" he trailed off uncertainly. Jiji sighed, looking slightly guilty.

"Never mind," she breathed, shaking her head. "Forget I brought it up." She lay back again and rolled over, hiding deep beneath the blankets, not wanting to face him. Iggy lay down again too, but rested on his side, watching the dying flames.

'_What was that about?_' he wondered. '_Are blankets not comfortable enough anymore?_' He thought hard for a few minutes, orange glowing on his face. '_Does she want a house or something?_' he thought suddenly. Iggy lay confused for a few minutes pensively. '_She kind of would have a point…_' he admitted mentally. '_We decided a long time ago we were staying here… why didn't we find somewhere to live then?_'

He gave a short laugh. "Oh, I dunno, Iggy. Maybe because we were barely sixteen," he said to himself. '_…We're still only seventeen…_' he thought. '_But we've been living on our own for nearly a year and a half now… not to mention all the shit we went through with the Garo…_'

He frowned, the Garo were a bunch of idiots… '_Don't worry about them. You're not one of them anymore…_'

The fact still remained, they needed a place to stay. Permanently. '_Maybe I can build us a house,_' he supposed. He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes.

'…_Yeah, and maybe we _won't_ die when it collapses on us…_'

Iggy and Jiji walked through the woods. They were heading for Kage and Selphie's house. The former had built said house all on his own, so they figured him to be a good starting point…

Iggy was no longer wearing the khaki shirt and brown pants of the Garo in training but had, for at least a year, been wearing a blue tunic with black pants, and brown belt and boots to match. He didn't care that the others hadn't noticed much when he changed, but he was a bit bothered that not even Jiji, who should have grown accustomed to the way he looked before, didn't say anything either.

The forest was fairly quiet today. Last night had been the latest in the recent cold snap. Winter was definitely coming, along with snow and all the other weather conditions. That was one of the things they'd enjoyed during the past year. Back when they were training to be Garo, they would once in a while get to throw a snowball or two, but any competition would be cut extremely short by one of the Garo masters. Here they had time to go into all out snowball wars.

Of course, it was probably a little too early to be thinking of that. It was only late fall, afterall. But Iggy did remember that when it got cold, Jiji's cheeks and nose turned a charming color pink, offsetting her generally pale complexion. He certainly didn't mention it to anyone. Either way, he thought her red cheeks and nose were cute and rather funny and decided to steal a glance at her.

There it was, the added color to show the cold. It occurred to him once more how much nicer Jiji looked ever since she had divested herself of the old Garo in training garb. Her new ensemble consisted of khaki pants, a reddish-brown belt, soft yellow shirt, a shawl/poncho with a variety of earthy mauve and maroons, and a pair of coal-colored boots.

Back when the change had first been made, Iggy had been a bit insulted when no one else noticed the difference. Kage teased him about it- "Are you sure it's not just _you_ that likes the way she looks?"- but Iggy shrugged it off, saying it was probably because he was so used to seeing her in the trainee garments. After that for about eight years, the change was probably just a little more impressive to him.

Of course, that wasn't really true, and Iggy knew it. Males aren't generally very good with the touchy-feely stuff, and everyone liked to joke about Iggy being a bit dense. But it hadn't taken him very long to figure out why he noticed this stuff: he was in love. He loved everything about Jiji- her new clothes, her pink cheeks, her strength, her spirit, everything.

He never told anyone this, especially Jiji. He knew what she'd say, "I've known him my whole life! That would be uber weird! Like having a crush on my brother!" Truthfully, he himself had tried to shrug it off as love for one's sister at first. But once it had advanced, he knew it and began to purposefully bottle it up. She would not find out. If he couldn't have her in _that_ way, he wouldn't risk separating from being best friends.

Jiji felt his gaze on her and turned to see him. "What's up?" she asked. Iggy shrugged.

"Not the temperature," he replied jokingly, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get into Selphie and Kage's house," Jiji agreed, returning the smile (making Iggy's spirits soar) and both returning their line of vision to the front.

Not two minutes later they arrived at Kage and Selphie's house. There was a startled yelp from inside, followed about half a minute later by an, "Oh, gods…!" from Kage. Iggy and Jiji glanced at each other before Jiji rapped lightly upon the door. Almost immediately Kage was at the door, beet red and looking extremely embarrassed. "Uh… Hi, guys," he greeted, attempting to be cheery, though his discomfiture was showing through.

"Hi?" they answered, stepping inside the door and barely glimpsing Selphie dashing up the stairs as they made their way to the couch and sat down. "What was that all about?" Iggy asked.

"What was what all about?" Kage feigned ignorance, sitting in an armchair across from them.

"That weird yelp and stuff," Iggy elaborated. "Did something happen?"

"Huh? Oh, that!" Kage answered. "Oh, I just, uh… spilled soup on Selphie. It was all down her front, and… I… uh… I tried to clean it… up… without thinking."

"Oh, gods…!" Jiji breathed, a smirk barely audible in her voice as she hid the one on her face with her hand.

"Ahg! Not a good place to touch!" Iggy said, not hiding his smirk.

"You think I don't know that?" Kage responded, burying his burning face in his hands. "Urg… It was so embarrassing…! I just wanted to help! I wasn't thinking!"

Jiji sighed, shaking her head while Iggy smirked wider. "Y'know, being Selphie's boyfriend, that area shouldn't be _completely_ off-limits," he said.

Kage's eyes widened, and he would have flamed Iggy's rear had it not been seated upon his sofa. Fortunately, Jiji, sparks in her eyes, picked up the slack by hitting him hard in the arm. "Ow!" Iggy said, rubbing the spot lightly.

"Serves you right… pervert…" she muttered. Iggy felt his face set aflame too and he looked away ashamedly. He would've laughed had it been Kage, but it rather hurt when Jiji said it.

Kage cocked an eyebrow at him, but quickly shook his head and glanced back to Jiji. "So did you guys need something or was this just a random visit?" he asked.

"We actually have a reason this time, believe it or not," Jiji answered.

"Reason for what?" Selphie asked. She appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her clean shirt leaving no traces of the soup Kage had spilled on it.

"A reason for visiting," Iggy answered, looking up again. "I was going to ask for Kage's help with something."

"This thing being?" Kage asked as Selphie crossed to a neighboring armchair.

"Building a house."


	9. Chapter 8

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 8

"Urk… this is taking longer than I expected…" Iggy said, looking around through the frame of the house. He and Kage (with help here and there from Link and even Ravick and Daru) had managed that much- the frame and the chimney. The roof was up over the western wing of the house, so Iggy and Jiji camped out there at night. It had gotten steadily colder, so they made fire in the fireplace to make it warmer.

It didn't help much.

Right now the moon was high in the sky, though it drifted in and out of view behind the occasional silvery cloud. They couldn't see it right now because they were in the left extremity of the house where the roof was already up. Iggy and Jiji had just finished eating and were now laying out their blankets so they could go to sleep.

"How bad would it be if the snow came early and got in the house before you guys got a chance to finish it?" Jiji asked, standing as she finished laying out her quilts. She herself had been working with Selphie to create the furniture and bedclothes for when the house was completed.

"Extremely, I'd say," Iggy answered. "On the plus side, we wouldn't have to worry about food going bad," he smirked. Jiji shook her head, smiling softly.

"…Hey, Iggy," she said suddenly.

"Hmm?" he responded, standing as well.

"If I do something, do you promise not to freak out?" she asked.

"Uh… I guess?" he answered. Jiji nodded and moved closer to him. Iggy's eyes widened as she put her arms around him in an embrace.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked, taken aback by the sudden display of affection.

"For one thing, building this house. If it weren't for you, we'd still be drifting around Hyrule," Jiji answered, letting go of him for a moment.

"Yeah, but there's no way I could build a house on my own. Most of this is Kage's doing," Iggy answered, trying to shrug it off.

"Maybe, but you got it under way. It was your idea to begin with, and _you_ are the one who's doing it for _my_ benefit," Jiji said. Iggy blushed slightly, and he hoped the fire in the hearth was not enough to show it. "And it's not just the house," Jiji continued. "I mean… you've stuck with me for all these years, even once you didn't need me to help you through the Garo training anymore."

"Jiji, do you think that's why I stuck with you during Garo training?" Iggy asked incredulously.

"Much of it," she answered.

"No!" Iggy replied. "It's because you were my friend!"

"When no one else would be-."

"No, because you were my friend. Period," he corrected. "I mean, you lived right next door to me before we even began that hell. Sure, I started out telling you that you had cooties." Jiji snickered slightly. "But you were still my friend." Jiji nodded slowly.

"You still didn't have to stay with me after we quit," she said.

"And who else was I gonna stay with?" Iggy replied. "Link and Yugi, despite having the extra space, definitely didn't need more people in the way while trying to raise twins. Selphie and Kage don't have the room anyways, and there ain't no way in hell I would have asked Ravick for help." He paused for a moment. "Though thinking on it, I'm sure Daru and the Gorons wouldn't have minded the extra people…"

Jiji gave another small laugh. "The point I was trying to make was that I appreciate you staying with me all this time even when you didn't have to. Even though I'm sure you don't think I need it, thank you for looking out for me…" she put her arms around him again, resting her head lightly against his shoulder. Iggy hesitated and finally slipped his arms around her too.

Neither spoke for a short time. Iggy's mind was running in circles. '_Oh, gods! I'm actually hugging Jiji! And she's actually the one that hugged me first…!_' he thought. It felt so much nicer than he imagined it would- and he imagined it quite a few times. One thing he noticed about it that he hadn't expected… she felt a little off balance… was one of her boobs actually bigger than the other, he wondered. He didn't care. Now, in addition to her pink nose and cheeks, he would love her mismatched breasts.

'_This would be the perfect time to tell her…_' he realized suddenly. '_I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to tell her how I feel…!_' Iggy opened his mouth to speak.

Jiji sniggered slightly against him. "What?" he asked self-consciously, about to let go.

Jiji giggled again. "You're taller than me all of a sudden. When did that happen?"

Iggy sighed in relief and smirked. "It's called puberty," he answered. "_Your_ growth spurt ended a couple years ago. Mine's not quite done yet though. Didn't you pay attention when your mommy gave you the 'talk?'" he asked with a grin.

Jiji pushed him away and poked his shoulder playfully. "Well, _excuse me_. My mommy's sex talk is not exactly what I was thinking about at the moment," she answered defiantly. Suddenly, though, her smile faded and her head lowered slightly.

"Damn those hormones, huh?" he asked. He glanced at her and noticed her abrupt sadness. "Jij?" he asked worriedly, moving closer to her again. She lowered her head a bit more, hugging her arms to her stomach. "Jiji, what's…?"

Jiji shook her head, keeping her head down. "Just… when you mentioned my mother…" she said slowly, breathing deeply. "It just… reminded me of my family… I rarely got to see them during the training… and we left so suddenly… I just… never got a chance to say goodbye… or…" Iggy stooped his head slightly so that he could look at her face and could barely see tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Hey…" he said soothingly, pulling her closer again. She leaned into him, shaking her head as she drew him toward the floor, sitting down now as she cried onto his shoulder. "Calm down, Jij," he whispered, rocking her gently. "Come on…"

"I had so many beefs with my family…" she said. "The last time I saw them I had that huge fight with my mom… I told her I hated them all… and… I wish I could have at least… told them I forgave them… that I didn't die hating them… my mom, my dad, my little sister…" Iggy listened quietly. "The masters probably told them I left the Garo and was killed for it… 'Stupid girl! She could have had it all! If only she'd listened to us, but no! Had to disgrace our entire household…!'"

It saddened him to see her like this. He wanted her to be happy. Since they'd left the Garo she hadn't ever mentioned her family. Iggy felt stupid for not considering her ever thinking about them at all. How long must she have felt like this but never had a chance to let it out? "Jiji, I doubt if they think that," Iggy said. "They probably wish they had done something different to keep you from making that choice."

"I know," Jiji replied. "And that's what kills me. I want them to know that it wasn't their fault I left. But I can never go back and tell them because _someone_ would find out and-."

"And either your family would cave and tell them where we are or be killed for not telling them," Iggy finished for her. Jiji nodded her head. "I know how you feel. I wish I could do the same thing… except for the going back to see my parents again part." Jiji blurted out a short laugh and Iggy smiled.

"This is just one more thing for me to be thanking you for…" Jiji whispered. "I'm sorry for breaking down like that… Thank you for putting up with it. You're such a good friend, Iggy…" She moved out of his arms and to the blankets she set out for herself, taking off her coat. "Let's go to bed now," she said, crawling under the covers and burying her head. "Good night, Iggy. Thank you again." She rolled over, not facing him.

"Right… good night…" Iggy answered, removing his coat as well, but much slower. Just as he sank into his blankets, his heart sank into the pit his stomach. That's all she thought of him as… a friend. She didn't even feel an ounce of what he felt for her… Iggy squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to sleep, suddenly finding it exceedingly difficult.


	10. Chapter 9

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 9

Their normal routine repeated itself for a couple of days. Much had been accomplished; most of the walls were even up. All that was left was the right side of the house and all the doors and windows. Then, one day, Jiji left in the morning for the forest to continue her work with Selphie while Iggy got right back to work on the house, waiting for Kage to join him.

Midmorning came, generally the latest that Kage ever showed up, and the former god had not appeared. This sucked especially since the day was much more bitter than those previous. Had Kage been around, they could have talked while they worked and Iggy would be more distracted from the cold.

"I almost wish I could be helping the girls with the pillows and stuff…" he muttered to himself, hammering a nail into the wall.

"I could use the extra help."

"Ack!" Iggy yelped at the sudden noise and cried out as he smashed his thumb, immediately sticking it in his mouth.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" He looked down to see Jiji below him, looking around. "Where's Kage?" she asked.

"Jiji?" Iggy responded. "Uh, he's not here, but I assumed he just slept in since he was out late last night getting that thing for Selphie in Kakariko." He climbed down to Jiji. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Selphie's not at home for some reason," Jiji answered. "And neither is Kage. I have no idea where either of them are."

"That's weird," Iggy commented. "And sucky. I need help for a lot of this stuff." Jiji shrugged.

"So tell me what to do," she said.

"_What_?"

"Tell me what to do. I can help," Jiji said.

"Are-?" Iggy was about to say, but thought better of it. "Whatever," he sighed. "Come on up."

Hours later the sun began to disappear and Iggy and Jiji decided to call it a day. With Jiji's help, Iggy had managed to get all but one wall on the outer frame of the house done. "Heh heh, I think we may even have gotten more done today than me and Kage generally do," Iggy said as they ate their dinner.

Jiji laughed softly. "That was definitely less boring than sitting around and sewing cushions for a sofa," she said. "Did you know that on average it takes fourteen thousand eight hundred and sixty-four stitches to complete a foot and a half square pillow?"

Iggy gave a short guffaw. "No, but I'll go ahead and take your word for it," he said. He shivered slightly, looking out the nearby window. It was darker than usual. Clouds completely overcast the sky. "Good thing the roof's all done. I think we're going to get even _more_ snow."

Jiji shook her head. "We should have done this _before_ the cold weather started up," she said. "That way you guys wouldn't have to be out here every day freezing your asses off." Iggy laughed. "What?"

"Well put," he said.

"Straightforwardness," she said, sticking her tongue out. She shivered and pulled the tongue back in.

"May want to keep your tongue inside your mouth," Iggy teased. "As cold as it is it could either freeze that way or get bitten off by the teeth chattering."

Jiji nodded, draining her cup of tea. "Well," she said, setting the cup upon the mantelpiece. "I am hoping it will be warmer under the blankets, _so_, I am going to bed."

"Good idea," Iggy agreed. They quickly laid out their blankets, keeping them only as far away from the fire as safety required, took off their coats, and crawled beneath the quilts. "Goodnight, Jiji."

"Goodnight, Iggy."

It was maybe two hours later that the wind came whistling down the chimney and through the window, carrying snow on its breath. Jiji shivered violently, though it was not just from the cold. "No… don't wanna… back… I want… stay… with… Don't hurt… stay… away… Don't!" Jiji awoke with a start and shot up to a sitting position.

"What…?" she held her hand to her forehead and looked around. She saw snow swirling through the windows, threatening to extinguish their fire, and realized how cold it was. Immediately she hid under the covers again.

"Jiji…?" Jiji started slightly, turning her head toward Iggy's voice. She saw him stick his head out from under the covers.

"Iggy! Y-y-you're o-kay!" she said groggily through chattering teeth.

"Yah, but are you?" Iggy asked. "I could hear you talking in your sleep."

"I d-d-don't kn-know…" Jiji said. "I'm so t-t-t-tired, but it's to- t-t-t-too c-c-c-cold."

Iggy watched her for a moment before frowning. "Jiji, your lips are practically blue," he said.

"H-h-how did y-y-y-you m-anage to stay so warm?" Jiji asked.

"I kept my head under the covers too," Iggy answered. "You need to do the same thing."

Jiji shook her head. "I don't think it'll h-h-h-help," she said.

Iggy paused for a moment, thinking. "Bring your blankets over here," he said finally. Jiji looked at him quizzically. "Come on, you gotta get warm." Jiji nodded slowly and crawled closer to him, pulling her blankets with her. Iggy unfolded the blankets that were on top of him and motioned for Jiji to do the same as he pulled the ones she'd been laying on closer. He layered both their blankets on top of them and laid down again, Jiji copying the motion as they hid under the quilts together.

"This better?" Iggy asked.

Jiji nodded her head sleepily and breathed, "I think so… Thank you, Iggy…"

He nodded his head too. "Good. Now get some sleep." Mission accomplished; Jiji was already asleep. Iggy sighed and poked his head out of the blanket, glancing at the window where all the snow was coming in. '_The blankets will get soaked and/or iced up and we'll freeze if I don't do something about the stuff coming in that window…_' He glanced at the blankets and came to a swift decision. They could do with _one_ less blanket.

Iggy moved quickly, climbing out from the covers and taking the topmost quilt. Swiftly he took said blanket and moved to the window, hanging it over the open hole in the wall. Making sure it was secure, Iggy was satisfied that it would hold overnight at least. Now he returned to the bedding and crawled beneath again.

Jiji was lying on her back, head turned to the side, still shivering though not nearly as badly as before. Iggy lay down next to her on his stomach, using his arms as pillowing. He sighed, closing his eyes but having difficulty sleeping for some reason. He shook his head, trying to clear it of all thoughts so that he could sleep when he heard a sharp intake of breath from Jiji.

Iggy turned his head to look at her for a moment. Something was a bit off. She seemed a bit pained somehow. Iggy tried to shrug it off and returned to trying to sleep. "Iggy…" He turned his head again. "Iggy, d…" Jiji murmured incoherently.

"Huh?" he whispered, but she was still asleep. He rolled onto his side to face her.

"Iggy, they're… after us…" she murmured. "Don't… don't let them get us, Iggy… Don't let them… take me away…"

"Who? Don't let who take you away?" he asked.

"…The Garo… they still want us, Iggy…" she said.

"What?" Iggy wondered why she would be saying this.

"I can't fight…" she said. "I'm too cold… I don't feel well…" Iggy wondered if this was true and reached his hand to her forehead. Wow, it was burning up. He hoped she hadn't gotten sick from sleeping in the cold. Jiji's face was scrunched up and she gripped the sheets tightly. "Iggy, make it go away… it wants me… I don't feel good and the Garo wants to kill me…" Was this delirium, Iggy thought. Jiji rolled onto her side suddenly and moved closer to him.

Iggy glanced down at her cheeks, which were no longer pink from cold but from fever, and pulled a few strands of hair that were stuck to her face from the sweat. She inched even closer to him and rested her head against his chest, her hand to his arm. Hesitating slightly, Iggy put his arms around her, resting one hand to the back of her head and holding it against him. "I told you… you never needed my help… the Garo are already gone…" Iggy gave a soft smile, stroking the back of her head softly. "Take good care of me, Iggy…" His smile faded as he closed his eyes.

"I will, Jiji… I will…" He squeezed his eyes shut. '_Even if this is just a dream… even if it's not my dream, it's _your_ dream… and it will all be gone in the morning…_'


	11. Chapter 10

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 10

Iggy woke up pretty early the next morning. He placed his hand on Jiji's forehead and found that it was still rather hot. Sticking his head out or the blankets, he found that it was still pretty cold. He pulled back inside and debated whether or not to leave.

He was a bit worried for Jiji's sake. If he left, he wasn't sure if the loss of the extra body heat would leave her warm enough. And if he stayed then it could possibly take a while for anyone to stop by, especially considering both Kage and Selphie had gone missing yesterday. "Iggy…?" Jiji whispered, opening her eyes slightly. Iggy looked down at her and was about to let go, but she held onto his tunic.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Bad…" she answered. "I feel like I got hit by a wagon…"

Iggy shook his head, "I think you were cold for a little too long…" Jiji nodded hers. "Are you still warm enough?" he asked. Again a response in the positive.

"Hello! Iggy? Jiji? You guys here?" Iggy's eyes widened as he heard Kage's voice.

"Oy! Kage!" he called, crawling out from the blankets. He pulled on his coat and ran to meet Kage in the next room. "Kage! Man, where were you yesterday?"

"Urg… it's a long story. I'll tell you about it later," Kage answered, rubbing his hands together. He was cold too, that was evident. "I came out here because it's freezing. We wanted to find out if you and Jiji ended up staying out here."

"Yeah, we couldn't have made it anywhere else," Iggy answered.

"Not if you stayed here all day," Kage said.

"Yeah, well, Jiji helped me work on the house yesterday," Iggy replied. "But last night it started snowing and stuff was coming through that window. I think Jiji caught something. She had to get under the blankets with me just to get decently warm." Kage cocked an eyebrow and half smirked. "Not like that!" Iggy scowled. "Come on, this could be serious. We gotta get her to your house."

Kage nodded in agreement. "Okay, get her coat on and some of those extra blankets," he instructed.

Jiji floated in between awareness and oblivion. She was only vaguely aware of the pillow beneath her head. '_Pillow…?_' Her eyes opened and she looked around. It looked like she was in Kage's room… but weren't she and Iggy at their house…?

Jiji put her hand to her forehead, groaning softly. She felt like crap. Her head hurt, it was feverish, and even her throat felt like someone had taken the sandpaper from their house and tried to sand her trachea. "It'll pass." She turned to see Selphie walking into the room with a mug, which she set on the bedside table. "We're pretty sure it's just a mild case of hypothermia," she said. "You should be okay just drinking the potion," she pushed the mug toward Jiji.

Jiji sat up and reached for the mug, bringing it to her mouth and drinking the potion. Once she was done she sat the mug down again and grimaced. "_Always_ forget how nasty those things are…" she said.

"How you feeling?" Selphie asked.

"Better now. Thanks," Jiji answered.

"Hey, I just brought the potion," Selphie replied, adding a small semi-sly smile. "Iggy's the one that kept you warm all last night. If not for him you probably would have frozen to death."

"He wha-?" Jiji cut off, eyes widening, as she remembered. "Oh, gods! No!"

"'No' what?" Selphie asked.

"I slept with Iggy! And I was talking in my sleep, and ugh!" she groaned. "I can't believe this!"

"Jiji, if you hadn't shared a 'bed' with Iggy, you probably would have frozen to death," Selphie tried to reason.

"But you and Kage don't even sleep together yet…!" Jiji moaned.

"Well… actually we do…" Selphie said slowly. "But that's a different story," Selphie waved her hand dismissively. "The point is you have nothing to be worried about. All you did was share the blankets for warmth-."

"No!" Jiji stopped her. "I told you, I was talking in my sleep. If I can't remember anything else I know I at least remember this much. I thought the Garo were after me and Iggy saved me from them. And I kept moving closer to Iggy, leaning against him, the whole nine yards until he put his arms around me, and the Garo went away. And then…" she trailed off from the embarrassment of it all. "I told him to take good care of me." She pressed her palms against her eyes to block everything out and didn't look up again until she heard Selphie snickering.

"What's so funny?" Jiji demanded.

"You are," Selphie grinned. "Why are you so put out by the idea of saying all these things in a delirious state?"

"Because I don't know how Iggy might have reacted to them!" Jiji answered. "He might have thought I really meant it!"

"And don't you?"

"What!"

"Didn't you mean all those things you said, if only at the time?" Selphie asked.

"I… at the time I really did think there were Garo after us, I really didn't feel good, and I really did need Iggy to fight them off," Jiji answered. "So I guess I did need him to take good care of me at the time. But I was unconscious!"

"Well, you know my theory on consciences," Selphie said. "You get your conscious self for when you're totally awake, your unconscious self for when you're totally asleep, and your subconscience that drifts between the two, often communicating real feelings that your conscious self purposely hides."

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Jiji queried skeptically.

"It means everything you said, _especially_ that last line, you absolutely really feel," Selphie replied.

"P-!" Jiji cut off when she heard a door open downstairs, voices following it. "Oh, gods! Iggy's back with Kage!" She heard Iggy coming up the stairs and her eyes widened. "I'm not awake!" she whispered hastily, lying down and facing the wall as she hid under the blankets. Selphie sighed in exasperation as Iggy knocked on the door.

"Hey? Is she awake yet?" he asked, slipping in the door and walking over.

"Not yet. She's still asleep," Selphie answered softly.

Iggy nodded his head and glanced over at Jiji. "She looks better," he commented. He noticed the empty mug on the table and frowned slightly. Selphie followed his line of vision and tried not to look guilty. "Well, if she wakes up, tell her me and Kage are gonna start moving furniture, cause the house is all done."

"Congratulations," Selphie gave him a small smile. He nodded, glancing once more at the empty mug before leaving, closing the door softly behind him. They heard the boys leave again and Selphie turned to frown at Jiji as the girl sat up again. "Now that was just mean, Jiji. Don't you _ever _make me do that again," she said, the girl lowering her head a bit. "I wonder if you deserve him," Selphie added. "The boy has done nothing but stay by your side since you were born. Do you think you could ask for anything better?"

"I don't know…" Jiji said softly. "You had your friend Flat like that, but you turned him down."

"Nuh-uh, that's different," Selphie replied. "It's different for me because I'm a time-traveler. I may have been given the chance to stay in my old time, but I was also given the chance to return to this time and Kage. We were put together and kept together. You guys were never separated to begin with. It's like the fates are screaming that you are supposed to stay together!"

"Selphie…"

"I'm telling you, Jiji, you need to get over this concept that Iggy's your _brother_ and that it would be indecent for you to be with him," Selphie said, picking up the mug as she stood, moving toward the door.

"But that's just it!" Jiji blurted. "I stay with him as a sister!"

"Do you? Do you really?" Selphie asked before leaving, closing the door behind her. Jiji stared after her for a moment before drawing her knees to her chest and hugging them against her.

"I don't know anymore… I just don't know…"


	12. Chapter 11

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 11

The next morning Jiji got out of bed again and tried to forget what had happened. She went downstairs and found Selphie in the living room talking to Yugi, the twins playing on the floor. When she heard Jiji come down the stairs, Selphie looked up and nodded in acknowledgement. "Morning," she greeted.

"Hi, Miss Jiji!" the twins welcomed and went back to playing.

"Hey," Jiji replied. "Where're the boys?"

"Running furniture to the house," Yugi replied. "Link, Darunia, and even Ravick are out there."

"They just about got everything already," Selphie added as Jiji sat on the couch with them. "Not surprising the way Daru was carrying the big stuff all on his own."

"I think he and Kage were competing a little bit," Yugi smirked, and Jiji smiled too.

"So, I guess you'll be kicking me out again pretty soon?" she asked Selphie.

"Well, now you don't have an excuse to be sleeping in everyone else's house," Selphie replied, smiling. Her grin widened and a mischievous sparkle appeared in her eye as she added, "Ironic timing, considering Kage and me finally have the extra room to loan you."

"Oh, yes. Did you two sleep well last night as well?" Yugi grinned.

"Not as well as the night before last," Selphie rolled her eyes. "One step at a time, Yugi."

Jiji listened in bemuse. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked confusedly.

"Well, we'd tell you, but the kids are within earshot," Selphie answered, winking. Jiji narrowed her eyes slightly, but they shot open when she realized what her friends were talking about.

"Oh, gods! Are you serious!" she asked, lowering her voice slightly.

"Mm-hmm," Selphie nodded, trying to contain her smirk.

"But a week ago you and Kage were sleeping in different bedrooms!" Jiji whispered.

"Things changed when…" Selphie trailed off, remembering exactly what had brought it all about. "Never mind," she said. "I'll explain more fully later." Jiji nodded her head slowly. Suddenly there was a click in the lock and Kage walked through the door with Iggy, Link, and Darunia right outside. "Hello, love," Selphie greeted as Kage walked over and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Daddy!" Mable shouted, jumping to her feet and running to Link, who picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"I figure my work here is done," Darunia called from just outside the door. "I need to get back to Goron City… no snow there…"

"Bye, Darunia!" they all called as he curled up and rolled away through the frozen forest.

"The same may be said for us," Link said, setting Mable down.

"Dad said he'd teach us how to ice skate this winter!" Raven said excitedly as he took his mother's hand, gathering around his father.

"Yah… impatient little ones they are," Link smirked, putting the ocarina to his lips.

"Goodbye, all," Yugi smiled as they disappeared in a flurry of blue lights.

"Okay, you two," Kage said to Iggy and Jiji. "It's cold out there, and I'm not running back and forth across Hyrule Field anymore. You two have to cart the last mattress."

"Is that all that's left?" Jiji asked.

"Yup," Iggy nodded his head. "Once that's in there, the house will be complete and livable."

"Finally," Jiji smiled.

"Yah… now get outta here!" Selphie said, tossing Jiji's coat at her with telekinesis and pushing them out the door, closing it behind them.

"That wasn't very nice," Kage said, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

"Ooh… are you going to punish me?" Selphie grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Maybe," Kage said puckishly. Selphie yelped as he picked her up and carried her across the room. "You've been bad! We must cure you of your wayward ways!" he declared.

"Gods, have mercy!" Selphie laughed as he made his way up the stairs with her.

Outside Iggy and Jiji had each taken one end of the mattress and began carrying it through the forest. "So you're feeling all better then?" Iggy asked Jiji as they waded through the snow.

"Top condition once more," Jiji replied.

"That's good," Iggy said. "We were all really worried about you. You were burning up and all, and you didn't wake up."

"Yah, well…"

They made sure to keep talking from the forest all the way across Hyrule Field. It was still so cold, the conversation helped to keep their minds off the temperature. When the house finally came into view Jiji grinned wide. Iggy glanced back and saw it, "What?"

"It's weird," she said. "I can actually look at that house and say, 'There's my house. I'm going home.'"

Iggy smiled, "That's part of the reason we finally got around to building this thing."

When finally they reached the house, Jiji held the mattress up against the side of the house to keep it from getting wet while Iggy fished out the key. "It's official," he said, unlocking and opening the door. He took his end of the mattress again and helped Jiji carry it through the door. They set it down briefly while Iggy closed the door again and then moved it right into the bedroom on the right side of the house.

"We set this thing down on the frame, and we… are… done!" Iggy said as they shoved it into place on the bed frame. "Phew!" he breathed as they both fell heavily onto the bed.

"I can't believe it," Jiji said. "This house is actually ours! No more drifting between Link and Yugi, Selphie and Kage, and Goron City and the field! We have a home base!"

"And I don't have to worry about breaking that promise ever again either," Iggy said. "We each have a bed now, and neither of us will ever have to sleep on the hard ground again, ever." Jiji laughed and then sighed.

"Well, I guess I better put those sheets me and Selphie worked so hard to make to good use," Jiji said.

"Yeah, they're right in here," Iggy said, standing up and walking through the next room, the kitchen, into the main room, the living room. He returned a moment later with a set of sheets and blankets topped off by a couple of pillows and set them all down on the end of the bed. "Here you go. I'm going to go take care of mine too."

"Okay," Jiji said. She stood up and got to work putting the sheets on her bed. About ten minutes later she took her bow- which had remained onsite the whole time and somehow managed to make it to her room- off the table and lit a fire arrow, sending it into the grate. Now her room was better lit and warmer.

"I was just about to see if you'd thought to do that," Iggy appeared in her doorway. She smirked.

"You know, I haven't really had my own room since I was ten, when we joined our class, and I can still remember making my bed was the worst part of cleaning it," she laughed, sitting down again. Iggy sniggered too, making his way into the room and leaning against the wall at the end of the bed.

He knocked on it once. "Hey, it's still standing! We must've done something right!" he joked, and Jiji rolled her eyes.

"You did a very good job," she said, pulling her feet up onto the bed and sitting Indian-style. "I'm pretty sure it won't fall down on us."

"For at least a week," Iggy added, making Jiji laugh again. "Yeah, I guess there are some things even _I_ can't screw up." Jiji rolled her eyes once more.

"Please," she said. "You're very good at a lot of things."

"I know, I know…" Iggy said.

"No, really, Iggy," Jiji continued. "You do a lot of stuff you don't give yourself credit for."

Iggy turned his head slightly, sitting down on the end of the bed and crossing his arms over his chest. "I still can't take good care of you though…" he mumbled quietly.

"What?" Jiji asked, barely hearing what he said.

"Nothing," Iggy tried to shake it off.

"No, really," Jiji said. "Did you say you can't take care of me?"

Iggy grimaced, squirming slightly. "Well… yeah…"

"That's not true!" Jiji insisted. "No one has ever taken better care of me."

"Right… _I_ get it, just explain it to the house so it will understand too…" Iggy said sarcastically.

"Iggy," Jiji said, moving toward the end of the bed. "Not only have you been there for me _literally_ my whole life, you saved my life when we went back to Ikana, you kept me from freezing to death two nights ago, and to top it all off you built a house- with or without others' help- so that _I_ would have a place to live."

"All right so I do take care of you…" Iggy conceded, sitting with his back against the wall.

"You don't _just_ take care of me," Jiji said. "And everything you do is not just because you're a good person or because you don't want to see anything happen to me… You're my…" She trailed off looking for the right word.

"Your what?" Iggy asked softly, almost painfully. "Your brother?"

"No…" She closed her eyes, lowering her head slightly.

"Your _friend_?"

"No…" Jiji shook her head, raising it once more.

"Right…" Iggy said almost skeptically, turning his head away. He started slightly when he felt Jiji's hand against his cheek, turning him to face her again. It almost looked like she was about to cry. "Jiji…?"

"Iggy… you're not my brother, and you're not my friend…" she whispered. He sat up and held his hand against hers, and she stroked his cheek with her thumb.

"You're just… _mine_…"

Iggy was numb. It was the most amazing thing. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Iggy opened his arms to embrace her. Instead, Jiji leaned forward, moving her head slowly closer to his, until finally they met, and, for the first time, they were definitely more than friends.

They didn't break away for a long time, and suddenly Jiji found herself pulling Iggy down onto the bed. It was like everything that had been hiding for seventeen years was calling, "Ollie-Ollie oxen free!" Nothing felt wrong, and everything felt right. And Iggy's bedroom may never actually be used…

**End Part 2**


	13. Chapter 12

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

**Part 3**

Chapter 12

Hyrule Castle Town was bustling with life. There were merchants and customers bartering, folks chatting, children playing…

And two familiar faces looking for a special piece of jewelry.

Iggy and Kage completed their business and left the market. Iggy looked down at the open little black box in his hand, or more specifically the contents of said little black box: a gold ring with a single diamond on it. "You sure you're ready to be using that thing?" Kage asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Iggy answered, though he didn't sound completely convinced of himself.

"You haven't been in a formal relationship that long," Kage added.

"I know. I know!" Iggy replied. "But I've known her my whole life. Doesn't that make up for it?"

"I'm not sure," Kage said. "You may have known her your whole life, but how well do you really _know_ her?"

"Whoa! Hold up! What's that supposed to mean!" Iggy demanded, stopping short.

"I'm saying you're not even nineteen, Iggy," Kage responded. "You're barely adults, and, really, how do you know what's going on inside her head?"

"I know she's the one, I know I love her and she loves me," Iggy snapped. "And I know that the only thing that matters is how we feel about each other, not how old we are or how long we've been in a 'formal relationship.' What I don't know is why the _hell_ you are smiling like that- why are you smiling like that?" Iggy asked, noticing the small smirk that had appeared on Kage's face.

"Nothing, that's just all I wanted to hear was all," he said. Iggy stared at him in confusion for a moment before Kage clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't sound too sure of yourself. I was just making sure you really wanted to go through with this." A look of comprehension dawned on Iggy's face and he grinned as well.

"I see…" he said as they began to walk again. "That closes it. You're definitely my best man." They continued across Hyrule Field toward the forest, where both Selphie and Jiji were watching Mable and Raven. "So, how's the reproduction coming?" Iggy asked off-handedly.

"Not well," Kage answered truthfully. "We've been trying for months but nothing's happening. I knew it would be hard but this is ridiculous…" he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but you're gonna keep trying though, right?" Iggy asked. The tone in Kage's voice made him think they were losing hope, which they very well might have been.

"I guess so," Kage said wearily. Iggy frowned a bit, looking a bit worried. He didn't like the idea of his friends going through that kind of pain because he knew how much they wanted a family, Kage not having had the best relationship with his family and Selphie having been taken away from hers by the time portal. Kage must have noticed the look on his face and tried to change the conversation. "Hey, forget about it," he said. "Don't worry about us. You've got that proposal to think about," he grinned.

Iggy smirked awkwardly. "Yeah, I do, don't I?" he answered uneasily. He looked away as though distracted. In truth he had a lot on his mind- fears, hopes… but mostly fears. Kage let out a slight laugh and woke him from his reverie. "What?"

"You remind me of how I acted when I asked Selphie," Kage grinned, looking up at the path.

"How d'you mean?" Iggy asked.

"You're nervous," Kage replied, still watching the path. "Even though you know you love her and you want to spend the rest of your life with her, you're nervous as hell. You're afraid that as much as you care about each other she's still going to reject you."

'_Wow… that's it in a nutshell…_' he thought.

'_I know. I was listening,_' Kage thought back and Iggy stared over at Kage for a moment until the former Sheikan deity smirked over at him and returned his gaze to the path ahead of him, both continuing walking.

Then Iggy smirked and looked at the path as well, "Yeah, but I ain't gonna run out on the wedding."

Kage glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, but you all were more protective of Selphie. You might not have the same problem if you ran out on Jiji."

"What are you trying to say exactly?" Iggy asked, somewhat indignantly.

"I'm trying to say that I got the better girl," Kage grinned mischievously.

Iggy leered at him unseriously. "Well, if you got the better girl," he said. "Then Jiji at least got the better guy."

"You really think so?" Kage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Iggy said, looking away haughtily.

"Heh," Kage smirked, and released a jet of flame at Iggy's butt.

"Gah!" Iggy exclaimed, trying to pat it out. Finally he shot an ice arrow at the ground and sat on the ice block it left. He shook his head and frowned, "Never fails to get old?"

"Nope."

"Bye, Aunt Selphie! Bye, Miss Jiji!" Raven and Mable called as their parents warped them out of the forest by way of ocarina. Selphie and Jiji waved goodbye. Jiji happened to look over near the entrance to the area and saw Kage and Iggy.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with their presence," she said, crossing her arms playfully and smirked at them. "It would figure they leave as the kids are arriving and then return just as they're leaving," she remarked to Selphie, who grinned.

"Hey, it's not like we planned it that way. It just worked out," Iggy replied, approaching Jiji and putting his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes playfully as he pulled her into a kiss.

"Get a room," Kage smirked as he took his place next to Selphie.

"Oh, hush," Selphie said, batting his arm playfully. "You just want some too."

"Very true," Kage said, kissing her cheek. She grinned, relishing in the moment.

Iggy and Jiji turned toward Selphie and Kage. "Well, I guess it's time for us to be heading out," Iggy said, holding Jiji from behind. They all said their goodbyes before Iggy and Jiji turned to the forest and started into the trees.

'_Good luck,_' Iggy heard Kage whisper telepathically. He fought the urge to look back over his shoulder toward them, but instead kept his attention on the path in front of him, almost stumbling over a tree root.

"Watch your step," Jiji smirked up at him. He leered playfully back at her and sighed contentedly. She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. "Ich liebe dich," she said. Link and Yugi and Kage and Selphie had their "daisuki" to tell each other they loved them, but at least one person in each couple actually spoke that language. Neither Iggy nor Jiji spoke ancient Sheikah, so it didn't make sense for them to use that word. And although they had left the Garo and preferred not to think about them anymore, it made them feel special to have their own unique way of saying, "I love you."

Iggy smiled back at her and stole a kiss to her cheek. This was what he liked: just being with her, being in her presence. They didn't have to say anything, but nothing they _did_ say caused any difference. This was why he wanted to make it official, put their love in stone. This was why he wanted to marry her.


	14. Chapter 13

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 13

Jiji held her hand to Iggy's forehead and asked if he was okay. He looked rather pale, hadn't said much all evening, and seemed kind of detached. Iggy shook his head, mumbling that he was fine. They had made it home and eaten dinner.

Jiji had to have been suspicious of him since the forest. He'd stopped suddenly, having reached the spot he'd planned to do it at. She'd stopped and asked him what he was doing. Iggy lost his nerve at the last minute and said he'd thought he heard a skullkid trying to sneak up on them. Then he did the same thing with a stalchild in the field.

The fact was he kept second-guessing himself. He'd work up the courage and then, when it came time to actually say something, he pawned if off on some imaginary stalker. Iggy felt like a total idiot, and it didn't help that she just shrugged it off. If she'd just pushed him and made him tell her what was really going on… she must have known he didn't really hear anything. He couldn't have been that convincing three times in a row.

Iggy picked at his food half-heartedly. Jiji was beginning to worry if he was sick or something. As he declined for a fourth time to actually ingest a forkful of potatoes, Jiji lowered her utensils and looked across the table at Iggy. "Iggy, are you certain you're okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine…" he mumbled.

"Are you sure? I mean, you haven't really said anything all afternoon and you're not really touching your dinner," she explained.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

Pursing her lips, Jiji picked up her silverware again. "…Cause if you aren't, you can just say so, and…"

"Jiji, I'm fine!" Iggy repeated, a bit more forcefully than he intended. Jiji narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sorry. I was just a little worried," she said. "It's not like 'I'm fine' really tells me a whole lot."

"It should tell you enough that I'm fine," he replied exasperatedly.

"Well, pardon me for caring. Next time I just won't," Jiji rejoined, cutting into her meat.

"Just drop it, please," Iggy said, quietly, returning to his food. "I'm sorry, all right?" Jiji shook her head slowly.

"Okay…" They continued with their dinner.

Iggy gave up on his food before his plate was halfway cleared. Probably the better half too… He stood up and cleared his place silently. Jiji watched him but didn't say anything, opting to continue eating. Iggy stood at the sink and washed all of the dishes they had left from breakfast as well. When Jiji was finished, she stood up and set her plate on the counter for Iggy.

"I'm going to bed. I'm sorry I snapped at you," she said, leaning over to kiss him. He nodded, turning his head slightly, causing her kiss to land on his cheek instead. She watched as he continued what he was doing for a moment, then turned and exited the room.

When she left, Iggy turned his head to watch the door, feeling thoroughly dejected. He didn't know why, but he felt that if he couldn't express his love in the biggest way, he had no business sharing it in the smaller fashions. When he was finished, he dried his hands and headed to the bedroom as well. He changed in the dark, so as not to wake Jiji, and then climbed into bed next to her.

The bed creaked beneath them as Jiji scooted closer and put one arm around him. Iggy turned his head slightly and glanced at her. Giving it only a moment's thought, he rolled over onto his side, facing away from her. About two seconds later, Jiji did the same thing, facing the wall… and pulling the quilt with her.

"Jiji, what's the matter?" Yugi sat with Jiji by the lake, watching as Link and Iggy took turns throwing the twins into the lake. Yugi studied her young friend's face for a moment. "Is something troubling you?"

It had been several weeks since she had helped Selphie baby-sit the twins while Iggy and Kage went shopping. Iggy had been acting rather strangely ever since. He wasn't nearly as affectionate as before and almost… avoided her, in some ways.

She knew Iggy was a guy, and guys aren't generally very good with the touchy-feely stuff, and everyone liked to joke about Iggy being a bit dense. But he still was usually pretty open with her about his feelings. She couldn't think of any reason he would suddenly withdraw from her. Unless… was it something she did? Jiji thought hard for something she might have done to make Iggy upset, but nothing came to mind. "Jiji?"

Jiji turned her head slowly to meet Yugi's gaze. "…Yugi, when you and Link first got together… did he ever become… reclusive?" she asked slowly, choosing her words carefully.

Yugi seemed a bit surprised and confused by the question. "Well, no," she replied. "But, then again, our relationship moved really rather quickly. It wasn't much longer after I got separated from Kage that Link and I got married and-." She realized Jiji had semi-lost attention. She shifted her gaze to the lake and saw Iggy. It made her think. "…Jiji, are you and Iggy having some kind of problem?"

Jiji looked over at Iggy as well. He seemed to feel their gaze and looked back at them, at which point Jiji immediately looked back to Yugi. "I don't know," she said somewhat distressedly. "I mean… everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago. But then Iggy just started to be… well, reclusive. He doesn't eat as much as he should either, and sometimes when I wake up he's already sitting at the table, not even doing anything. I thought at first he was sick, but whenever I ask him, he kind of… well, he gets a bit short."

Yugi listened pensively, staring off over the lake. When Jiji finished she thought for a few more moments. "…Did you happen to notice any specific point where he changed?" she asked.

"I dunno, a couple of weeks ago," Jiji replied. "Uh… I guess I really first noticed it the day we watched the twins, when Iggy and Kage went to the Castle Town." Yugi thought for another moment. "I've tried to think of anything I might have done to make him this way, but I really can't think of anything… Do you know what the problem might be?"

Yugi shook her head. "I've never encountered it before in my relationship with Link," she said. "You might ask Selphie, but I don't recall anytime that she and Kage were ever on the rocks."

Jiji drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top. "Great… I really don't know what to do, Yugi," she said.

Yugi placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Well, did you ever try confronting him and asking what the problem was?" she asked.

"…Well, no… but that's only because I didn't think it would help," Jiji answered. "I thought about it, but I worry that it would only make things worse, that he'll be put out and retreat even more, especially with the way he reacts when I ask if he's feeling well…" she explained. "He's become so distant already. I don't want to risk pushing him away any more."

They both watched as the sun began setting behind the hills.

"Well… sometimes in love you need to take risks…"


	15. Chapter 14

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 14

Some time later, Iggy and Jiji were en route back to their house in the field. They strode separately- they would usually hold hands, paces working into synchronization. Neither said a word. The only sound was a few crows overhead and in the trees. There wasn't a lot of light. The moonlight as well as that of the stars was greatly diminished by the clouds rolling in overhead.

Jiji glanced at Iggy, who avoided her gaze by looking upwards. "Uh… looks like a storm coming in up there," he said as they came to the top of the hill, by the rock wall.

Jiji shook her head slowly. "_Feels_ like one coming in down _here_," she said under her breath, frowning with a hint of dejectedness.

"Wha-?"

"Iggy," Jiji stopped walking and turned to face him, he copying the actions. "I want a straight answer," she said resolutely, but with a small hint of nervousness. He waited apprehensively for her to continue. "…_Are_ you okay?"

Iggy was taken aback slightly. "Well, yeah. I'm fine," he answered.

"Are you sure?" Jiji asked. "Because you really don't act the part lately."

"…Is this about me not eating much again-?" Iggy inquired.

"No! No, Iggy, it's not," Jiji responded. "It's about most everything except your eating and sleeping habits. It's about why you don't say much lately, why you don't cuddle, kiss, or hug me, and why you haven't said 'I love you' in weeks."

"I'm sorry," Iggy said. "I love you-."

"It's not the same now!" Jiji exclaimed. "I just mentioned it! It's not as though you actually thought to say it yourself!"

"Then, what? You don't want me to say it?" Iggy asked confusedly.

"No! I _want_ you to say it, but I want you to-… oh, I don't know!" Jiji threw her hands up and pressed them against her forehead frustratedly as she sat upon the wall. Iggy watched uncertainly for a moment, thinking of how to respond as he sat next to her.

"…Jiji… I… I'm sorry… I've just had a lot on my mind lately is all," he said. Jiji lowered her hands, turning her head towards him. There were tears in her eyes.

"And why couldn't you talk to me about it?" she asked.

Iggy stared helplessly. "I… just couldn't-."

"No! I want an answer, Iggy!" Jiji snapped. "You used to be able to tell me anything! Why can't you do that!" More tears were filling her eyes, causing them to overflow down her cheeks.

"Just… something's changed…" Iggy said, softly. He pursed his lips. Maybe this should be the time. "About us, really… about how I feel about you." Jiji's eyes widened and she clenched her fists tightly as she turned her head away.

"No…" she whispered, standing. Iggy copied the move.

"Jiji, just… just know that no matter what happens, I will always love you," Iggy said. "Don't ever forget-."

"Stop! Just stop it right now!" Jiji exclaimed, stepping away from him.

"What?"

"Don't, Iggy, just don't… do it…" she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Jiji, this is something I have to tell you-!"

"No, it isn't!" she cried out. Suddenly, she turned around and fled in the direction of the forest, too quickly for him to react.

"Jiji, stop! Wait!" Iggy called after her.

"Don't stop me! Don't try to stop me!" she shouted back. "And don't you dare follow me!" Thunder rumbled overhead, suddenly the clouds glowed with a flash of lightning and split open, crying down on the two as though they had troubles to rival that of their love. '_I knew I shouldn't have confronted him…_' Jiji thought as she reached the tree line and entered the forest. '_Yugi was wrong. The risk wasn't worth it!_'

About twenty minutes later, she stood outside Kage and Selphie's front door, soaking wet and shivering. She knocked loudly on the door to be heard over the storm. A few seconds later, Kage opened it a crack to see what was outside. When he spotted her his eyes widened slightly. "Jiji?" he asked, opening the door more for her to come in.

She stepped inside and heard Selphie from the couch, "Jiji? What are you doing here?" Jiji shook her head as Kage closed the door. Selphie stood and crossed the room. When she got closer, she saw that Jiji was crying still. "Jiji, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Jiji shook her head once more, putting one hand to her face to hide it. Kage placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Does it have something to do with Iggy?"

Jiji pulled her hand away from her face. "It has everything to do with him, the dirty bastard!" she cried, ready to fall to the floor. Selphie grabbed her and Jiji threw her arms around her, clutching the back of her shirt and crying onto her shoulder. Selphie put her arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. Kage watched uncertainly.

"Jiji," Selphie said. "Why would you say that? What did Iggy do?" she asked.

Jiji shook her head. "It's not what he's done, it's what he's going to do!" she said. "What he's done is nothing compared to what he's going to do…!"

"What is he going to do?" Kage asked.

Jiji broke into a new fit of sobs and Selphie led her over to the sofa, where they sat down and Kage sat opposite in an armchair. "Jiji," Selphie said. "What is he going to do?"

"…He's going to break up with me!" Jiji answered.

"What!" Kage and Selphie both blurted out, though it was hard to tell who sounded more incredulous.

"What do you mean he's going to break up with you? That's impossible!" Kage said.

"How do you know he's going to break up with you?" Selphie asked.

Jiji shook her head and wiped her face a bit with the back of her wet sleeve. Kage stood and went to the bathroom, returning quickly with a towel for her. "He… He hasn't been normal the past few weeks," she said, taking the towel and wiping her face. "He doesn't talk to me, kiss me, tell me he loves me, anything." They listened silently. "And then tonight when I confronted him about it, he… well, he came pretty damn close to doing it!"

She set the towel on her lap. "Jiji, what makes you so certain that he was going to break up with you tonight?" Selphie asked.

"What he was saying," Jiji answered. "He said something had changed about us and the way he felt about me. No matter what happens he would always love me. Doesn't that sound like someone trying to break up with someone?" she demanded.

"…Yeah… actually…" Selphie admitted softly after a moment of thought. She pulled her closer, "Oh, Jiji."

Kage thought silently for a moment. "…Are you sure he was really breaking up with you? It could have been an unfortunate mischoosing of words?" he said.

"Coupled with his behavior the last few weeks, I think his meaning was pretty clear," Jiji said somewhat bitterly, shooting him a small glare.

"…Please don't tell me you've turned your back on the whole male gender," he said.

"Kage!" Selphie whispered a bit warningly.

"Would you blame me if I did?" she returned.

"Well, you're not the first person to be dumped by her boyfriend- not that you've even been dumped yet," Kage said.

"As good as," she replied.

"Not necessarily," he said. "I mean, I can't believe that Iggy would actually break up with you."

"Well, I think I know him a bit better than you," Jiji said.

"Apparently not," Kage said without thinking.

"Kage!" Selphie exclaimed. His eyes widened and he closed his mouth immediately. Jiji looked like she was ready to begin bawling again. Selphie glanced between the two of them and made a quick decision. "Jiji, why don't you head up to the guest bedroom and get out of those wet clothes. I'll get you a clean nightgown."

Jiji nodded silently and stood. Selphie followed her upstairs and gave her the clean nightgown, telling her to go to sleep and that everything would look better in the morning. When Jiji was safely in the guest bedroom, Selphie went back downstairs and rounded on Kage. "What were you thinking!"

"I'm sorry! I wasn't!" he said, rising defensively.

"Well, you should have, Kage!" Selphie said, making her way toward him. "Iggy's about to break up with her, and there you are saying she didn't _know_ him?"

"I didn't mean it like that! I was trying to convince her that her relationship wasn't over!" he responded.

"And what good will that do, Kage? If he breaks up with her anyways-!"

"But he's not, Selphie! That's just the thing!" Kage cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Trust me! The farthest thing from his mind is breaking up with her.

"How do you know?" Selphie demanded.

"Oh, come on, Selphie!" Kage said, throwing his arms up exasperatedly. "Don't you remember what I told you that day me and Iggy went to the Castle Town?" He held up his left hand, drawing particular attention to the ring finger. Selphie stared confusedly for a moment, but then her eyes widened.

"Oh… oh! Oh!" she exclaimed. "He-… he was trying to-!"

"Yes, dear," Kage said, holding a finger to her lips to silence her. "At least I'm fairly certain that's what he was trying to do. He probably tried to do it already… several times probably, but chickened out."

"Why would he chicken out? He's known her his whole life," Selphie said.

"Oh, it's Iggy," Kage said. "You know how insecure he is about Jiji. He wants to make sure she gets what's best for her, even if it means it's not him. So, he probably kept second-guessing himself."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Selphie gushed. "We have to tell Jiji!" She turned and started back toward the stairs again. Kage's eyes widened and he grabbed her.

"Absolutely not!" he said. "We couldn't do that to Iggy!"

"What do you mean? All that would do is make his whole job easier," Selphie said.

"No, Selphie. Quite the opposite. Iggy needs to tell her this himself or else he'll never be able to live up to it," Kage explained.

"But Jiji needs to know she's not about to lose the love of her life," Selphie countered.

"Selphie… Jiji can live with thinking she's losing Iggy for a few hours," Kage said. "But if she doesn't hear about an engagement from Iggy first, she won't hear it from him at all, and she really will lose him." Selphie remained silent. Kage smiled at her, placing his hand on the top of her head. "Just let her sleep for now. I'm going right now to get Iggy and bring him here."

"In this storm, Kage?" Selphie asked. "It's crazy for you to go out in that. I thought you said she could live a few hours."

"She can, but I'm not so sure about Iggy," Kage said. "And it'll take me at least that long to get there."

"Kage, I'm glad you want to help our friends, but that's dangerous," Selphie said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Not in my dragon form," Kage answered, putting his arms around her as well and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be fine, don't worry." Selphie nodded, leaning her head back to place a kiss on his lips. Afterward, Kage let go and went to the door. Before he went out, he turned back to Selphie, "Just one thing, Selphie. Don't go to sleep yourself."

"Why's that?" she asked, crossing to the door too.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but I'd still worry if you were asleep here with no one to protect you," Kage said. "Not to mention the storm, and Jiji in the guest room-."

"Yes, yes, I'll keep my eyes open," Selphie said, smiling as she rolled her eyes playfully. Kage kissed her once more before opening the door and leaving. Selphie heard him roar over the storm before he took off. "I hope Iggy and Jiji appreciate what we're doing for them…" she said to herself as she sat on the couch and took up the book she'd been reading.

Not half an hour later she was asleep upon the cushions, the book open on her chest.


	16. Chapter 15

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 15

Iggy sat in the kitchen, staring into the fire. It flickered occasionally as wind howled down the chimney. The light was low, and shadows danced across his face. He fingered a small object in his hand and considered his options. None of them were particularly pleasant. It was clear he had lost Jiji this evening. She'd run away just as he was about to pose the biggest question he could ever ask her. That made him think she obviously had "no" in mind for the answer, and he couldn't think of one reason she would say it otherwise.

Iggy stood up. There was no reason to stay here. This was Jiji's house. He'd built it for her. He wouldn't be able to live with her- and only barely with himself- after this anyway. Disappearing into the bedroom, he gathered a few of his things- change of clothes, bow and arrow, his favorite weapon, his sword- and threw on an overcoat. The ring sat on the table. He walked over to it and picked it up, examining it silently for a moment. This is what he would have used to represent his feelings for her. He _would_ have, but she had run away before he could even ask. And since he was leaving, there was no sense in keeping it.

He crossed to the fire and glanced at the gold band once more. He lifted his hand-.

The door slammed open, revealing Kage, rain soaked in his kimono, outlined in the doorframe. "Iggy!" he exclaimed when he saw Iggy by the fire.

"Kage, what are you doing here?" Iggy asked bewilderedly as Kage strode over quickly. Kage grabbed his hand and pulled the ring away. "Hey! What are you doing!"

"Saving you from making a bad mistake," Kage answered, holding the ring up in front of Iggy and then slamming it on the table. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I would get rid of the one thing that would remind me of Jiji when I leave," Iggy answered, remembering his wretchedness. "Jiji doesn't want to marry me."

"Oh, please. She doesn't even know _you_ want to marry _her_," Kage said.

"I don't see how she couldn't know," Iggy responded. "I was just about to ask her when she told me not to talk anymore and left. I made it pretty clear what I was going to do, I thought."

"No, Iggy. You happen to be a victim of poor choice of words," Kage explained calmly. "Jiji had no clue you were about to propose to her."

Iggy took a moment to process that. "She… didn't? …Wait a minute, how do you know this?" he asked suddenly.

"Because she showed up at my house an hour or so ago, soaking wet and weeping," Kage said. "She ran to our house and told us what happened. Fortunately for you, we knew that she had it wrong."

"Well, if she didn't think I was proposing, then what did she think I was doing?" Iggy posed.

"Exactly the opposite," Kage replied. Iggy stared at him perplexedly. "She thinks you were trying to break up with her."

"What!" Iggy exclaimed. "How could she have thought that?"

"Well, when you consider the way you've been behaving since you _chickened out_, and your unfortunate choice of words, all of which she shared with us, I can really see why she thought that."

Iggy took a deep breath, eyes widening. "I've gotta go tell her the truth!" he cried out.

"Well, that _is_ why I came and got you," Kage said. "Come on." He turned and walked out the door. Iggy was about to follow, but he remembered the ring and took a moment to find the box and place them both inside his pocket.

"All right! Let's go-!" he exclaimed as he stepped out the door and tripped, falling face-first into the mud. "Jeez, can't I get a break?" he griped, sitting up. An object moved beneath his chin and hovered about an inch from his flesh, and Iggy stiffened. He stared at the sword that was pointed at his throat and followed the blade to the hilt. Though he recognized the type of sword before his gaze reached its owner, he was still shocked to see the assassin.

"Hello, Ignatius." Iggy stared up at the bright eyes behind the GIT hood, the orbs that were losing their life and would be perfectly soulless in a few more years, and resisted a shudder as it struck him that he might have looked like that by now. The blade moved closer to his neck.

"…Hello, sir. I probably know your name, however, I can't recognize you behind your hood. Perhaps if you removed it-." The blade pressed against his flesh and Iggy quieted. "I see you're well-learned in all the provisions ordained by the masters."

"I won't risk being made the target of an assassination like you have," the tyro replied. "Either by revealing my identity… or by failing in my mission."

"I see. Good luck with that," Iggy replied. He glanced down at the object he had tripped over and spotted Kage beside him, a small bump on the back of his head. "I guess you couldn't have any sympathy for my friend here?"

"Mercy is for the weak like you," the trainee spat.

"If you say so," Iggy said, hand moving slowly toward his belt. "Before you earn your A, can I ask how you guys found out I was still alive?"

"We have our ways." Iggy stiffened when he realized someone was behind him. There was the sound of sinew stretching and he knew they had drawn an arrow.

"So I'm not even considered high enough on the scale to be a single-tyro target?" Iggy asked. "That's insulting."

"You won't have to feel that way for long," the one behind him said.

Iggy's hand found what it was looking for. "No… I guess not…" Rain fell on them for a moment as they sat silently. There was a sudden flash of brightness as lightning struck nearby, blinding them momentarily. One of the Garo cried out and they both had to shield their eyes. When the light faded, Iggy was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" asked the one with the sword. He gasped suddenly as a blade was pressed against his neck.

"Drop your weapon," Iggy ordered from behind him. The Garo was hesitant, but when Iggy pressed harder he dropped the sword. There was silence for another moment. Rain made a soft tinkling sound as it landed on the metal of the blade. The trainee with the bow and arrow watched silently for a moment before speaking up.

"Well? Aren't you going to kill him?" he asked.

"I'm waiting until I'm in a position where you wouldn't be able to kill me immediately after," Iggy replied nonchalantly.

"And how would that be?" There was another bright flash of lightning, again blinding the tyro. When he looked again, Iggy was holding a bow, knocked with an arrow, in addition to the sword. In his left hand were both the sword and the bow while the arrow was drawn back with his right. "How did you-?"

"Next time someone is sent to assassinate me, I want to be a higher test level," Iggy smirked. "Not that I _want_ anyone else coming after my life, and that can be easily avoided if you lower your weapon, return to the encampment, and lie to the masters, telling them that I have been slain."

"Now why would I do that?" the archer asked.

"Because I don't want to kill you," Iggy said. "That's one reason I left your people. And you don't have to die, especially if you don't want to fail."

"This assignment won't go uncompleted," said the one next to Iggy.

"You've no room to talk, so just shut up for now," Iggy said, pressing the blade even harder against his neck. Iggy looked back at the archer. "You don't have a lot of options here. If you rush me, I'll let go of my arrow and I will kill you, and you can't hit me with your arrow without killing your friend first. Moreover, even with your grade on the line, I don't think you're willing to do that."

Iggy couldn't see this, since he was behind the sword tyro, but the trainee held his hand out ever so slightly and held up one finger. The archer gave a slight nod. A second later, the tyro in Iggy's arms went limp and the one across from him cried out and dropped his bow as Iggy's arrow struck him in the shoulder.

Iggy let the sword tyro fall to the ground and knelt down to check his pulse. It definitely was gone. Iggy pulled the arrow out of his chest and closed the eyes that were more lifeless than they would ever have been had be become a true Garo.

He stood again and crossed to the bow trainee, who was pressing his hand to the wound in his shoulder. When he noticed Iggy standing over him, the tyro pulled his hand away from his wound. "It's alright to feel pain, you know," Iggy said. "It is _not_ alright to kill your own partner for the purpose of passing your field test, especially when you're going to fail anyway."

"That's what you think!" the trainee cried as he quickly pulled a dagger out with his good hand. Iggy was quick enough to use his own sword to disarm the trainee and then made a quick slice across his stomach. The tyro cried out, falling back onto the ground in pain. Iggy held his sword to the tyro's neck.

"I will kill you," he said coldly. "If not for coming after me, then for your own friend that you killed without blinking an eye."

"You think I feel no remorse in killing my only friend?" the tyro posed. Iggy eased a bit when he heard the kid's voice. It was plain to hear he was crying, and that the voice was not so tough anymore. He was afraid he was going to die. Iggy realized that his quick slice across the stomach might have been a bit deeper than he intended. "Please… just don't kill me."

Iggy's eyes widened as he heard the voice again and realized he did, in fact, know this tyro. He knelt down next to the kid and reached toward him. The adolescent pulled away slightly, but Iggy took hold of his hood anyway and pulled it back. "Just as I thought…" he said. It was not, in fact, a boy, as he'd first assumed. It was a girl, a girl with short black hair, pallid skin, and eyes that matched Jiji's right eye. "Aryn," he said softly.

The little girl, Jiji's baby sister, was crying. He hadn't noticed before that she was smaller than most tyros at this level. Obviously she'd been as skilled as Jiji and managed to skip a grade or two, for Aryn could only be eleven by now and most of those in her level were fifteen and sixteen. She held her arms across her middle, curled into a fetal position. "I… I just wanted to bring honor back to my house," she wept. "After Jiji left…"

"It's okay," Iggy said, softly. "I understand."

"I didn't want to be a Garo either," she sobbed. "But everyone mocked Mom and Dad. If I could become a Garo at an early age, everyone would realize they hadn't been bad parents."

"Shush," Iggy whispered. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." Aryn nodded slightly, but continued to cry. Iggy noticed hers were the only tears falling, as the rain had stopped.

"Am I going to die…?" she asked hoarsely. Iggy pursed his lips and was about to answer when he heard a voice behind him.

"You might be able to live," Kage said. Iggy looked back to see the former Sheikan deity holding his hand to the back of his head. "But we'll have to bandage and treat that wound."

She looked pleadingly to Iggy. "Please. I don't want to die."

"Don't worry," he replied. He turned to Kage. "We haven't got any medicines right now. We ran out and haven't gotten the chance to go to town and get anymore," he said.

"We've gotta get her to my house then," Kage said. Iggy nodded his head and kneeled next to Aryn, lifting her into his arms. He turned around and saw Kage already in his dragon form. When he was up on his back, his friend took off and flew back toward the forest.


	17. Chapter 16

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and, now introducing, Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 16

Jiji sat on the bed in the guest bedroom for a few minutes after changing into Selphie's nightgown. She had a lot on her mind, and she was trying very hard not to cry. Crying would get her nowhere, and she had already spent more tears on that dirty bastard than he deserved. But even as she thought this, the tears spilled from her eyes because she knew that Iggy wasn't really a dirty bastard. She loved him dearly even after what he had just done, or what he was about to do.

She just didn't understand what could have made him stop loving her. If something had changed, wouldn't she have felt it too? If anything, she had felt their relationship escalating as it progressed, up until the point where he regressed and pulled himself away. Thinking about it all again just made her hurt even more and she buried her face in her hands. She didn't look out until she felt a rush of wind and realized the window had come open.

Momentarily forgetting her problems, Jiji jumped up and went to the window, shutting it and making sure it was locked. When this was done she took a deep breath and looked out the window at the storm that was raging on. It was a tempest to rival the one inside her right now. Rain streamed down the windows and thunder roared overhead. Wind buffeted the sides of the house and lightning streaked across the sky. When the flash died away, she realized it was darker in the room and turned to see the candle was out.

She groaned slightly and pressed her forehead against the glass of the windowpane. "Damn candle…" She declined to walk over and relight it, but continued to stare out at the storm.

Jiji was lost in her thoughts until her ears twitched slightly. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach as it does when one gets the feeling that one has someone right behind him. Jiji sat up, but didn't turn around. She didn't have to because she could see the Garo's eyes reflected in the window. Before she could react, he had reached around her and held a cloth to her face. Jiji took two breaths and was out like a light.

She was cold. Her face was pressed up against wet stone. Her whole body ached as of someone who had been unconscious for some time.

Jiji finally opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around and all hints of sleep disappeared from her face as she realized where she was. There were three solid walls around her and one set of corroded iron bars opposite her. The floor and walls were damp from lack of upkeep. She was in the prison of the Garo encampment. The room had not been kept in good condition because the Garo rarely took prisoners, which led Jiji to wonder why in hell she was there.

"I see you're awake." Jiji started when she heard the voice. Looking to the cell door, her eyes narrowed as she saw her old teacher, one of the Garo masters. He stepped closer to the bars to get a better look at her. "Two years have changed you, Jiji," he said.

"I'm sorry I can't say the same for you," she said coldly. "Skip the crap. I wanna know why I'm here, and I wanna know now."

"Spirited as ever," he commented.

"What's it to you?" she sneered.

"I'm just hoping it will carry over. Spirit is a good thing to have," he responded coolly. Jiji didn't understand his meaning, and she didn't particularly care.

"Now that's two questions that you've avoided answering," she said.

"Technically you didn't ask a question before."

"I'm asking you now. Why am I here?" The Garo master didn't respond but opted silence and started to leave. "Hey! Answer me, you bastard!" she shouted, jumping up and starting for the bars. The shackles on her wrists just barely allowed her to reach and grasp the metals bars in her hands.

He paused and turned back to her. "I suppose you deserve an explanation as to why you'll be a guest here for the next year," he replied nonchalantly.

"A year?" Jiji repeated incredulously. "You don't take prisoners anyway. Why are you holding _me_ here for a year, especially when you've already tried to have me killed.

The Garo master placed his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "That, I'll admit, was a mistake of ours. It is almost fortunate that the two we sent out to kill you before had failed, although we're still glad we found the mistake before they graduated… they were punished," he said with a grim smile. "In any event, we'll need you for at least nine months. The extra three are precaution."

"Nine months for what?" Jiji asked suspiciously. The Garo master gave a small chuckle. "Nine months for _what_?"

"Think about it."

Jiji did think about it, and it didn't take long for her eyes to widen. She backed away from the iron bars to the wall at the back of the cell. "You're… you're not serious!" she gasped.

"And why not?" he posed.

"Because… because there's no reason for it!" she answered.

"Ah, but there is," the Garo master replied, stepping toward the cell again. "I don't suppose you know, my dear, that you descend from the very traitor who gave away the _balteus movere_."

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"He placed a charm on his family. His eldest son would have all the secrets of the belt buried within his psyche. It would carry on that the eldest of his descendants would inherit this trait," he said. "And you, Jiji, are the eldest of your family. It just so happens that we tried to pry the information out of your sister's head not long ago. It was when we found she didn't have it that we realized you and Iggy were still alive."

"And why kidnap me instead of killing me and letting Aryn carry on the line?" Jiji posed.

"A matter as important as this was, of course, properly researched when we realized you were still alive," the Garo master said. "While we would have loved to have just killed you, we discovered it could only be one of your descendants who would hold the information. Had you died, the secrets would have disappeared with you."

"But in nine months when the child is born, you'll have no need of me and I'll be killed," Jiji stated rather than asked.

"It may be more than nine months," the master said.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Well, it is never exactly nine months, and we can't fertilize you quite yet."

"What?"

"My dear, you do recall that a woman is only fertile for so long out of her monthly cycle-."

"Of course I know that!" she shouted. The Garo master ignored this outburst and stepped away, starting toward the door.

"Be aware of this: it will do no good to hide your virginity. It shall be lost within the fortnight," he said before leaving. Jiji stared at the door a moment, contemplating his words. Somehow she had backed into a corner and now slid to the floor. As she sat there and thought, a sob escaped her lips and she covered her mouth, not wanting anyone there to hear her cry. Then she hid her face and buried her head in her knees.

She was going to be forced to carry on the tradition of a people she had tried to completely forget about, and as she thought about the Garo master's words, she realized she actually didn't have what he thought she was going to lose. With that, she was reminded of the person she had given it to and how she wouldn't have seen him again even if she hadn't been kidnapped and how much she loved him and it all just made her cry even harder until she eventually sobbed herself to sleep.


	18. Chapter 17

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 17

Kage landed in the clearing where his house was. Iggy climbed down off of his back with Aryn in his arms. The clearing was completely silent and darker than usual because of the cloud cover. Overall, it seemed a bit eerie which is rarely a word someone would consider as describing Kage and Selphie's home. Even the house seemed to loom over them, casting a sense of foreboding.

"Something doesn't seem right here…" Iggy said, keeping his voice up to prevent Aryn from falling asleep. That could be fatal for her.

"How do you mean?" Kage asked as he shifted back into his human form.

"I dunno…" Iggy answered. "I've just got a bad feeling is all." They walked to the front door and Iggy's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's that smell?" Kage remarked sniffing slightly.

"It smells familiar," Iggy said. Kage opened the door and the smell intensified tenfold. "Holy-!"

"What the hell!" Kage exclaimed, throwing his hands to his face, protecting his nose and mouth.

"I know what this is!" Iggy said as he covered his own face. "Chloroform pellet. Don't breathe. It'll put you out." He directed this statement more to Aryn who quickly used her robe to cover her face. They went inside, holding their clothes over their mouths and noses to prevent inhaling the fumes. Iggy sat Aryn on the couch and then he and Kage opened all of the windows in the room to aerate the room.

"Oh, no!" Kage said, walking over and spotting Selphie on the couch. She'd been knocked out by the chloroform pellet. "Iggy, is she-?"

"She'll be fine," Iggy said. "Go check on Jiji. The gas fills the entire room. I wouldn't be surprised if it made it upstairs." Kage nodded and headed up the stairs to the guest bedroom. Iggy returned his attention to Aryn. "How are you?"

"I don't think the bleeding has stopped yet…" she whispered. They'd used her robes as a means of applying pressure to the wound.

"I'm going to treat that right now," he said, standing up and walking over to the bathroom. Kage came down the stairs at that point and met him. "How is she?" he asked.

"She's not, Iggy," Kage answered, eyes wide.

"…What?" Iggy said confusedly.

Kage swallowed once before explaining, "She's not there, Iggy. Jiji's missing."

Iggy's eyes widened when he heard this news. They closed slightly as he allowed it to sink in. Then his eyes widened once more as it hit him. "Oh, gods…!" he breathed.

"What?" Kage asked.

"The chloroform," Iggy repeated. "I don't know why I didn't think of it…"

"What?" Kage repeated.

"Chloroform pellets are a device of the Garo," Iggy said, looking up to meet Kage's gaze, then looking away thoughtfully. "They came after me, it seems logical they would come after Jiji as well."

"But they tried to kill you on the spot, Iggy," Kage said. "Why wouldn't they just kill her in the bedroom and be done with it?" Iggy didn't have an answer for that, but he turned around to look at Aryn on the couch. Without saying anything to Kage, he walked over.

"Aryn, why did the Garo want Jiji?" he asked her. Aryn looked at him and then averted her gaze. "Aryn."

"They need her to find the _balteus movere_," she whispered.

"The what?" Kage asked, joining them. Iggy looked at her thoughtfully.

"The _balteus movere_?" he asked. "Why would they need Jiji?"

"Because she's the first born in our family," Aryn answered.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kage asked.

"We descend from-."

"The Garo who gave it away," Iggy finished the sentence for her. "I remember this legend now. Does that mean they want to extract it from her?"

Aryn shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I just know that me and Davies were sent to kill you and another pair was sent to bring Jiji back to the encampment." She shuddered and inhaled sharply. Iggy sat in thought for a moment.

"What do you make of it?" Kage asked.

"I don't know," Iggy said. "But-." He cut off as he caught a glimpse of Selphie, or more specifically _her sash_. "Kage…" he said. "Didn't Selphie say she got that sash from a Garo?" he asked.

Kage glanced back at Selphie. "Yeah, I think so." The thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute! You don't think that's the sash the Garo want?"

"I don't know for sure, but if they get that information from Jiji, they're going to come after Selphie. Be ready for that." Iggy stood up and turned to Kage. "Treat her wounds and make sure she doesn't fall asleep," he said, pointing to Aryn and starting to walk past him to the door.

"Whoa! Where're you going?" Kage asked, taking a few steps behind him.

"I'm going to save Jiji," Iggy answered shortly.

"Alone? Iggy, you can't be serious," Kage said.

"Yes, I can be," Iggy replied. "I know you want to help, Kage, but this is my battle. This beef is between the Garo and me… and I know I can handle it."

"How can you be so sure?" Kage questioned as Iggy reached the door. Iggy paused and clutched the door as he looked back at Kage.

"Because Jiji is on the line… and even if I don't make it… it's better than losing her and knowing I did nothing to prevent it…" He disappeared out the door without another word. Kage stared after him for a moment before going into the bathroom and returning with the bandages and such. He kneeled next to Aryn and began cleaning her wounds.

"Why's he so riled up about this?" she whispered.

"Because he's prospectively your brother-in-law," Kage replied.

Aryn was silent for a moment. "Wha…?"

Meanwhile, Iggy had already started through the forest at top speed in the direction of Ikana. There were flames in his eyes. He had been just about to finally propose to Jiji, but those bastards had to kidnap her. That was what really made him crazy! They kidnapped her! They were going to pay. If they hurt her…! He was not mad, nor angry, nor fuming, nor furious. He was _pissed_.

If one wanted an idea of how pissed Iggy was, they need only look at the speed at which he ran that night. Normally it takes a person about twelve hours to walk/run from Hyrule to Termina. Iggy made it from Hyrule to _Ikana_ in only six. That's how pissed he was. And what did he do when he got there? Well…


	19. Chapter 18

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 18

Jiji was huddled against the back wall of the cell she had been locked up in. It was a strange sight indeed. For one thing, the cell was rarely if ever used anyway, so seeing any person huddled against any wall of this cell was strange. For another, one would not normally think of Jiji as huddling. She was usually a very strong and independent individual, not to mention retaining a small streak of pride. So, it would be unusual to find her in such a position as would demonstrate fragility and defeat.

The sight became stranger as the door opened and the Garo master stepped inside and Jiji jumped in her skin, which seemed significantly paler considering she had only been in captivity for eight hours, shrinking into the corner of the cell farthest from the visitor. "So… I see your visit with the good _gune_ has broken your spirit a bit." He gave a light chuckle. "Well, you'll be happy to know, you won't get another visit of that nature for another week."

Jiji made no response.

"No response? No witty rejoinder nor scathing riposte?" he gave another laugh. There was a muffled noise from Jiji's corner. "I'm sorry, dear. What was that?" The noise was slightly louder. "Pardon me? You'll have to speak up."

"Go to hell." But even that was strange, because Jiji did not spit it at him as she normally would a villain or opponent. Comparable is her battle with Link when she first met him. During that time she had even spat in his face. Now her voice lacked its usual vigor and fell flat upon the damp floor.

"I certainly shan't. Not until I'm certain the Garo have the information they need to get back the _balteus movere_ from the humans," the Garo master said. He turned toward the door but looked back over his shoulder. "At any rate, that won't be for at least another nine months or so." He returned to the door and exited, leaving Jiji alone again.

She leaned against the wall and thought to herself, '_I wonder if Iggy has had as much trouble as I have since…_' and couldn't bring herself to finish the thought.

Iggy's troubles had been considerably less than Jiji's since they parted ways. For one thing, he hadn't had _gunes_ prodding about where they weren't wanted, and for another he hadn't been kidnapped and detained in a damp cell. But, if he had anything to do with it, Jiji's day would grow considerably less adverse.

The sun was beginning to peek over the canyon walls, turning them deep rust. The blue bubbles disappeared and Iggy heard the first faint squeak of a bombchu. Had he the time to think about it, Iggy would have noticed that, much as he hated to admit it, dawn in Ikana Canyon was still beautiful.

Iggy made his way through the canyon, slowing his speed only for the sake of stealth. There was no way of telling how long it had taken him to get there or how long before he arrived at Kage and Selphie's Jiji had been kidnapped. Time was of the essence, but Iggy was level-headed enough to know that giving himself away would not only not save Jiji, but possibly get him killed. So, as he approached the hidden entrance to the Garo encampment, he did his best not to make any noise.

For this, he was thankful he'd grown up with the Garo. Their training in furtiveness was certainly a benefit now. Iggy remembered their once saying that only a Garo could get past a Garo. He'd thought that they meant only a Garo knows enough about the Garo to get past them. Now he knew that was untrue because he was most certainly not a Garo and here he was, making his way around the outskirts of their village. They'd placed the jail in seclusion because it was highly unlikely that it would ever be used. Iggy was relatively sure that's where they would keep Jiji.

When finally the jail came into view, he realized how little it really was used. It was in such horrible repair that he wondered why Jiji hadn't already broken out. "Well, at least it will be easy to break her out of there…" he breathed when he was relatively close to the door.

"Oh, don't be so sure." There was a sword around Iggy's throat. "Don't resist. I shan't hesitate to kill you."

Jiji looked up at a noise outside the door of the jail. The door opened and the Garo master stepped inside… backwards. '_What the hell?_' she thought until he was in the room and closed the door behind himself. That is when he turned around and revealed what he'd had in front of him. "Iggy!" she exclaimed. He glanced in her direction when he heard his name. The Garo master took this opportunity to open the cell door and toss him in with Jiji.

"I was about to bring you some food," he said, locking the door once more. "However, when I found your friend here I had to abandon the victuals. I shall be back with more in about an hour." He turned and exited the jailhouse door.

Jiji stared at the door for a moment and then turned her gaze to Iggy who was massaging his neck where the sword had been. He felt her gaze on him and turned his head, giving a weak smile and wave. "Hey."

She was silent for a moment. "…What are you doing here?" she asked softly.

"Well, if the Garo master hadn't caught me, I would be rescuing you," he said. She watched him for another moment.

"Why?"

"Well, I figured the only way to reach knight in shining armor status was to rescue the damsel in distress," he replied with a small smirk. She shook her head, leaning back against the wall. He understood she wanted the straight answer and the smirk faded. "Why wouldn't I?" he posed.

"…Well after what happened last night, I didn't figure you'd want me around anyway," she said.

He shook his head. "No. I would never not want you around," he said.

Somehow that didn't seem to make her feel any better. "…I guess even if you didn't want me around as your girlfriend, you would still want me around as your friend," she said.

"Nope." She looked over at him in shock. "I most certainly do not want you around as my friend or as my girlfriend," he said.

She scowled suddenly. "Well, gee thanks. Glad to know I'm just a sympathy case!" she said, turning her head away and glaring at the floor instead. She heard him move over and sit down next to her, so she turned her back from him. Then she started when she felt his arms around her. "Iggy…"

"I don't want you as my friend or my girlfriend, because I want you as all of that and more," he said, holding her close. She turned around and he pulled her into his lap, leaning her against his chest.

"But… what about all of that stuff back in the field? And the stuff the last few weeks…?" she asked, voice choked and tears filling her eyes.

He rocked her gently. "I just didn't know what to say… I was scared, Jiji," he said.

"Scared of what?"

"Scared that you wouldn't feel the same way."

"The same way about what?"

She turned her head around to look at him. Iggy didn't respond at first but leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the forehead. He smiled at her, leaning her against him again, and whispered into her ear. "I'd show you, but I'm afraid something will happen to the ring while we're breaking out."

Jiji gasped, eyes widening as she turned around in his lap. "Ring?" she repeated. Iggy nodded his head, smiling at her. Tears fell down out of her eyes. She put her arms around him.

"I love you, Jiji."

"I love you too, Iggy."


	20. Chapter 19

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 19

"So… this place looks pretty decrepit," Iggy said after a few more minutes of simple cuddling. "Could you really not find a way out of here?"

"Actually there's at least nine ways I could have broken out," Jiji said matter-of-factly.

"Then why didn't you?" Iggy asked.

"Well… after what happened in the field, I thought you were breaking up with me, and I couldn't bear that thought. So I didn't see much point in breaking out," she answered.

"You were going to subject yourself to the Garo because you thought I didn't love you anymore?" Iggy asked. She nodded her head. Iggy kissed her forehead again. "No worries then, because there's no way I could not love you."

She smiled at him. "And what about you? What suddenly gave you the courage to ask the big question?" she asked.

"I haven't technically asked it yet," he said. "I don't want to have to look back and say I did it in a nasty jail cell."

"You know what I mean," she said. "I get that that's what you were trying to do that day we were walking home from Kage and Selphie's house. You were scared then when there was nothing threatening us, and yet your very life is on the line here and you were able to break out of your shell."

"Well, not only is _my_ life on the line here, yours is," he said. "And if gathering up my courage to almost ask you the big question was what it took to save you, then I was ready to do it."

"Mr. Cool-Under-Pressure," Jiji smirked.

"Damn straight," Iggy replied, grinning as well. "So, future Mrs. Cool-Under-Pressure, please share with me the most favorable means of escape." Jiji slipped out of his lap and stood up.

"Well, probably the least conspicuous and most difficultly detected means of escape would be to climb over the wall and slip out undetected before the master returns," Jiji replied as Iggy stood as well.

"Climb over the wall?" Iggy repeated. "How will that possibly work when we still have a roof to contend with?" he asked looking up as he pointed to the ceiling. "…What the hell?"

There was no roof.

Iggy stared for a moment over at Jiji who smirked at him. "…Let's get going then."

When they had successfully climbed over the back wall of the jail cell, the two started sneaking back out of the village. This was considerably harder to do since there were two of them now _and_ it was broad daylight. Slipping about under the cover of night is one thing, but out when there is plenty of light to see by is completely another.

And it doesn't help when your jailer returns with food for you much, much sooner than he told you and raises a silent alert for all entrances to be blocked and all sworn in and in training ninja to begin searching for the two missing captives. With all of these measures being taken…

"There they are!" someone shouted.

…Of course they were caught.

Shortly thereafter, several Garo surrounded them. Iggy and Jiji looked around the circle of ninjas and trainees and wondered how were they going to get out of this.

"How are we going to get out of this?" Jiji whispered as Iggy pulled her closer.

"How are you going to get out of this?" the Garo master asked as he stepped forward. "You would have been spared a lot of grief over the next year if you'd just stayed in that cell, little miss Jiji," he said. "And _you_ might have even been spared period for at least a few more days," he added to Iggy.

"Curious as to why either of us would be spared at all," Iggy said, trying to hide his anxiousness with coldness. Jiji inched closer to him, though she tried to also look defiant.

"Why is it that you always ask questions before you must die?" the master asked exasperatedly.

"With all due respect," Jiji said, in this case meaning as little respect as humanly possibly. "None of the times previous that you sent someone to kill us did they actually succeed."

"Perhaps because they actually took the time to answer your questions," the master replied.

"Excuse me, sir, but if you can afford to reveal a secret of the Garo right before you die, you can afford to reveal a secret of the Garo right before you kill," Iggy said. "Either way the revelation can't harm you."

"And it's only fair that we know why we're in this particular predicament," Jiji said, although she knew quite well why she was in this particular predicament.

"I do believe you know quite well why you are in this particular predicament," the master answered, smirking very slightly. Jiji silenced and looked away. Iggy noticed this action.

"Recap for my benefit then, please," he requested.

The master rolled his eyes behind his hood. "Very well. Your friend here is the descendant of the Garo who gave away the _balteus movere_ and thus is the only one with the knowledge of its whereabouts and secrets."

"So you were going to keep her here and use her to find it?" Iggy asked, glancing at Jiji.

"Nein," the master replied, using his native tongue. "We don't want to find it just yet. We simply wanted to keep the knowledge within our community. We planned to conceive a child with Jiji and raise it to be our secret keeper."

"You what-!" Iggy exclaimed. He was about to fly off at him when Jiji squeezed his arm. He glanced at her again as she shook her head, silently telling him not to do anything rash.

"Fine… Now me," Iggy said, trying to hide his rage. He wanted desperately to massacre every last one of them, and although he was more skilled than anyone gave him credit for, he knew he lacked the capacity. He'd settle for getting Jiji as far away from them as possible. "I'd like to know why you threw me in that cell rather than killing me on the spot."

"I should have thought it quite obvious," the master said.

"Not obvious enough," Iggy replied.

"It is because you are here at all," the master said. "You were supposed to have been killed. As soon as I returned with her food, I was going to interrogate you on the condition of my two tyros. In fact, I think I shall do so right now. Where are they?"

A pit formed in Iggy's stomach and a knot in his throat. He couldn't tell them about Aryn. She'd be killed for sure. She might not live anyway, but at least with them thinking she'd died she'd have a chance to live and die _after_ living a long happy life without the death ninjas hanging over her head and controlling every living moment of a death-filled life. "Dead. The remains of the fight are probably still lying out in front of my house," he said.

The master scrutinized him for a moment. "Do you swear on _your_ life?" he asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely," Iggy replied, and technically he was… sort of. The one tyro was probably still lying dead in front of his house even if Aryn was alive (probably) at Kage and Selphie's house.

Iggy's eyes widened. Selphie! That's right, she had the sash! He knew where the sash was, but he didn't know how that would help him.

Kage! Iggy vaguely remembered one evening when Kage told them he was the son of Shinigami, and it was a well-known fact that the Garo worshipped Shinigami as a mass-murderer of the divine realm and a demon to boot. If Kage is his son…

The master studied him for a moment more. "Fine then," he said. "Now that I have that information from you, I can return your friend to her cell and the others may kill you."

"No!" Jiji cried out. Iggy squeezed her hand to silence her.

"I didn't want to have to resort to this," Iggy said.

"Resort to what?" the master asked suspiciously.

"Relying on the reputation of my friends to save Jiji," Iggy said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" one of the other Garo asked.

"It means," Iggy said. "That you don't need Jiji to find out where the _balteus movere_ is."

"What do you mean?" the master asked suspiciously, stepping toward them.

"I know who has the _balteus movere_," he said. "And it would be incredibly unwise to try to steal it from them, ever."

"I don't much care who has it now," the master said. "We won't be trying to attain it for a few years yet."

"Yes, but this person will have the sash for many, many years to come," Iggy said. Jiji looked at him confusedly.

"And just who is this mystery keeper?" the master asked as he stepped right up in front of them, staring down at Iggy from behind his hood.

"…I suppose you've heard of the demon god, Shinigami," Iggy said, staring right back at the Garo master. The whole ring quivered.

The master took a slight step back. "…What has he to do with this?" he asked slowly.

"His son has the sash," he said boldly.

"What?" someone from the circle blurted.

"And how would you know this?" the master posed.

"Because he's a friend of ours." The Garo all started laughing. Iggy looked down at Jiji who gave him a questioning look. He looked back to the Garo master.

"That's funny," he said as the laughter died down. "For a moment there, I thought you might have actually had a valid point." He chuckled slightly. "And tell me, Ignatius, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, Shinigami being your favored deity, and you being his favored people-," Iggy said.

"Since when are we his favored people?" the Garo master asked, hiding his surprise at this information.

"Kage told me… Kage being his son," Iggy said. "You being his favored people, I think it's clear that he gave the sash to his son for protection until the time has come for you to use it."

The Garo all looked around at each other and the master seemed to mull it over. "Very well then… if what you say is true, we haven't any need for Jiji afterall."

"Precisely," Iggy said.

"But how can we know that what you say is true?" one of the other Garo posed.

"He is right," the master said. "Perhaps if you could prove you knew this god… but alas, I see no way for you to." Iggy and Jiji glanced at each other, sharing a smile and a thought. Iggy reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper. "And just what is that?"

"I like to keep a picture of my friends with me at all times, because they are so dear to me," Iggy answered, smoothing out the pictograph. He held it up to the Garo. "That's his half-sister, goddess of light," he pointed to Yugi, "Her husband, his brother-in-law, and their two children," pointing at Link, Raven, and Mable, "Our selves," indicating himself and Jiji, "His wife-."

"Wait a minute!" the master exclaimed, snatching the picture. "That's the little wench that fool gave the sash to in the first place! The one that stepped in the _fissi en khronos_!"

"And that would be why," Iggy said. "She was merely retrieving it for him." With that, he pointed at Kage. "Note, please, the silver irises," he said. The Garo master studied the picture closely for a moment.

"Fine then. This is proof enough for me of what you say," he said. "Now that I know I've no need to keep Jiji…" Iggy and Jiji both grinned and Jiji squeezed Iggy's hand.

"You both can die."


	21. Chapter 20

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 20

"What!" they exclaimed, eyes widening as the Garo around them all cheered.

"You can't be serious," Jiji protested. "After Iggy just gave you all that information?"

"Would you rather he escape for providing the information and you stay and die because of it?" the master asked, bending over to stare her straight in the face. Iggy stepped between them and faced the master boldly.

"If anyone is going free, it's Jiji," he said. "She was kidnapped and brought here. I came of my own free will. So, if either of us is going to die or go free, she's going free and you guys can have your way with me." He said all of this in a dead serious tone.

"Iggy, you can't do that…!" Jiji said. He put his arm back and placed his hand on hers to reassure her.

The master sniggered slightly. "What's this?" he said. "Do I detect feelings between the two of you?" A small chuckle traveled around the ring. "You two were always thick as thieves, pardon the expression." Another chuckle. "Do you _love_ each other?"

"You better believe it," Jiji said, stepping out from behind Iggy. She held his hand tightly in hers.

"It matters not to me," the master said, stepping away. "I'll let you decide between yourselves who gets to die."

"All right, Iggy, any more ideas?" Jiji whispered.

He shrugged slightly. "Just one," he replied, hint of nervousness in his voice. He didn't continue and she gave him a prompting look. "Just follow my lead," he whispered. She nodded. Iggy put his arms in the air and stepped forward. "Okay, we give up."

"What!" Jiji exclaimed.

The master chuckled. "I was under the impression communication was a desired element in a relationship," he said.

"What do you care?" Iggy replied, putting his arms down again. "As long as you kill your two rogues and the secrets of the Garo go to the grave with them and the demon god of shadow gets pissed and avenges his friends' deaths against the whole race of Garo-."

"What?" the master said skeptically.

"Well, yeah. This guy's as crazy as his father. If two of his friends were killed, don't you think he'd fly off the handle?" Iggy elucidated.

"I don't think anyone would avenge you two's deaths," the master smirked.

"Didn't I just say he's crazy?" Iggy responded. "And beside that, Jiji's like a little sister to his wife and sister. None of them will take it well."

The Garo master scrutinized him for a moment. "You're bluffing."

"I promise you, we're not. He's a deity for crying out loud. The fact that he let us take a picture of him to show the whole world shows his fondness for us," Jiji cut in. She and Iggy glanced at each other. "And besides that, do you really want to take that chance?"

"And how would they know we are the ones who killed you?" the master asked.

"Jiji was at their house when she was kidnapped. I left from there on my way here. They know you abducted her and that I came to save her," Iggy said.

"Chances are, if we're not back in the next twenty-four hours, Kage will appear in all his godliness to destroy you all," Jiji continued.

The Garo master seemed to contemplate this. "…Stand down," he said to those in the ring.

"But sir!" several cried out.

"I said stand down!" he repeated forcefully. "Tyros, back to your training!" About half the circle left (the shorter half). The rest lowered their weapons and relaxed their stance. The master stepped toward Iggy and Jiji. "…Understand… if somehow I find out there is any untruth to any of this, the entire force of Garo ninjas shall hunt you down, and we will make sure you die this time."

"That sounds a lot to me like you still have many doubts about what we've told you," Jiji said.

"That I do…" he replied. "But the wrath of a god is not something I would like to risk… and from what I can tell, you two are standing next to a couple of gods in that lovely pictograph of yours." He stepped away. "Now leave, before I change my mind…" They nodded and turned and started toward the exit to the encampment. "Remember… we will hunt you down…"

Iggy and Jiji remained silent until they had reached the safety of the river. At that point, they looked at each and smiled. Then they snickered. Then they laughed. Then they clung to each other from the intensity of their mirth. "I can't believe we pulled that off!" Jiji cried a few minutes later when their laughter had begun to die down, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Neither can I!" Iggy replied.

"Iggy, you're a genius! That was brilliant!" Jiji said.

"Of course it was," Iggy responded. "I had to come up with something brilliant or else I wouldn't have been able to get you out of there," he said, putting one arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

"And I'm so very glad you did," she answered, leaning toward him and planting a kiss on his lips. They stood for a moment before Jiji took Iggy's hand. "Come on. We've gotta get home before Kage appears in all his godliness to avenge us," she giggled, pulling him toward the path.

"I'd give him a little more time. He does still have Ar-!" Iggy's eyes widened. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks. "I completely forgot!"

"Forgot? Forgot what?" Jiji asked, nervous at the panic on his face.

"We're not home free yet! There's one more person we have to save!" he said, pulling her along.

"Wait! Iggy, who?" Jiji asked as she was drawn along.

"Your sister."

"My what!"

"You know how those tyros were sent to abduct you? Yeah, well two more were sent to _kill_ me. Some boy and your sister," Iggy explained.

"But Aryn's barely old enough to be a tyro period, let alone be at the field test level of training?" Jiji responded.

"She was trying to restore honor to the family and enrolled early… very early."

"Then… wait, what happened? Why is she in trouble?"

"I had to defend myself, Jiji…"

"Then… wait, is she dying!"

"Maybe."

"Then we've gotta get going!" Jiji exclaimed, racing ahead of him and taking the role of yanking him along.

Several hours later, Iggy and Jiji reached their friends' home in the Lost Woods. They had stopped running some time ago; both being too tired from lack of sleep the night before and the challenging ordeal during the day. Now they staggered to the front door and knocked wearily upon its wood.

The door opened and Selphie stood on the other side. "Oh, gods! You're safe!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around them both. "We were all so worried!" She looked at Jiji, releasing the two of them, "Oh, no! Did Iggy tell you?"

"Yes, Selphie. I told her," Iggy said, trying to calm Selphie down. "Now I do believe Jiji would like to see her sister." He looked to his left where Jiji had been a half minute ago. They turned around and saw her thumping up the stairs. Iggy and Selphie glanced between each other and then followed upstairs.

Jiji reached the top of the stairs and the guest bedroom. Kage stood over the bed and a small figure under the sheets. He turned around when he heard her enter. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece," he said as he walked past her. "…Hemophilia…" he whispered, closing the door behind him before Jiji could respond.

Jiji walked over to the bed and looked down at the person in it. The little girl with short black hair and pallid skin opened her green eyes ever so slightly. "Hello… Jiji…" she whispered.

"Aryn…" Jiji said, kneeling down and putting her arms around her little sister. "What are you doing here?"

"The Garo master sent me and my partner to kill Iggy, but he got me first… I had to kill my partner…" Aryn said softly.

"I know all of that. Iggy told me, but why are you in training at all?" Jiji asked, sitting up and kneeling next to the bed.

"Everyone was making fun of Mom and Dad because you ran away. They said they were bad parents, so I thought, if I could become a good Garo early, then they'd stop making fun of us…" Aryn rasped, a few tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

"All because I left?" Jiji asked. Aryn nodded her head.

"They said I was trying to bring honor back to the family…" Aryn said. She sniffled a few times. "Jiji… Why did you leave?" she whimpered.

Jiji blinked back a few tears. "I just… I couldn't be a Garo…" she said.

"But you were the best in your class! Why couldn't you?" Aryn asked.

"I didn't want to be… you don't like to kill, do you, Aryn?" Jiji posed.

"Nuh-uh… I don't wanna be a Garo either… I just wanted to make them stop making fun of Momma and Daddy…" She had reverted to the names for her parents from when she was still quite young and vulnerable.

"I know… and you wouldn't have had to if I'd stayed… and you wouldn't have had to kill Iggy…" Aryn gasped out in pain, clutching her stomach. "And he wouldn't have hurt you…"

"Jiji… I'm afraid…" Aryn sniffled.

"Afraid of what?" Aryn didn't respond, and Jiji instantly knew what her sister meant. Jiji stood up, but before leaving she reached down and pulled down the blankets to see Aryn's wound. There was a bandage wrapped thickly over her stomach, but it was soaked through with blood. "I'll be right back with the others."

Jiji covered her again silently and left the room to retrieve her friends.


	22. Chapter 21

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 21

Iggy, Selphie, and Kage were sitting on the couch and armchairs. They all looked up when they heard Jiji come down the stairs. "How is she?" Iggy asked quickly.

"Not great…" Jiji answered at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm not surprised…" Kage said. "Not with what the lakeside professor said. Link warped him over here a couple hours before you returned."

"Was it that bad?" Iggy asked nervously.

"We couldn't stop the bleeding," Selphie said, all standing and making their way across the living room. "We thought maybe he had something that could help since the potion wasn't cutting it."

"And what did he say?" Iggy asked, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

Selphie didn't respond, but Kage looked over at Jiji. "…Hemophilia," she said softly. Iggy's eyes widened.

"Then… wait, she's gonna make it, isn't she?" Iggy asked.

"Unless we find an alternate way of stopping the bleeding…" Kage said.

"But, can't you use your powers?" Iggy asked. Kage shook his head, mumbling that he had tried already. They all glanced over at Jiji.

"…We should make sure she's not alone… if nothing else…" she said.

"Should we tell her?" Selphie asked. They glanced between each other.

"I think… only if she asks us," Jiji said. They nodded, and the four ascended the staircase to the guest bedroom. Aryn was on her side, arms wrapped around her stomach. "You feeling okay?" Jiji asked, kneeling next to her sister.

Aryn shook her head slightly. "I can barely feel my limbs… and I feel cold," she whispered. She looked paler than she usually was.

"That's a sign of massive blood loss…" Selphie said.

"…Am I gonna die?" Aryn asked. The four glanced between each other again.

"…We think so, Aryn," Jiji replied. Tears trickled out of the girl's eyes. Jiji watched her nervously for a moment, but nodded.

"I'm okay…" she rasped. "I mean… now that I know… it's a little easier…" Jiji put her arms around her sister. "At least I don't have to die with Iggy's murder on my conscience…" Jiji gave Aryn's hand a little squeeze. "I wish _my_ field assignment went as well as yours," she said. Jiji gave a small laugh. "You got to leave the Garo, made great new friends, and you and Iggy are together now." Jiji glanced back at her friends.

"Well, two out of three isn't bad," Jiji said. "I'm sure you could count Kage and Selphie as friends after the way they took care of you." They smiled at Aryn.

"What about the leaving the Garo?" Aryn asked.

"Well, if you _did _live, would you go back to the Garo?" Jiji asked.

"Heck no," Aryn stuck out her tongue, and Jiji snickered slightly.

"Well, then," Jiji said. "I shall make it official."

"…Can you do that?"

"Of course I can. All you have to do is renounce the Garo in front of three or more witnesses and have someone else pronounce you not a Garo," Jiji explained, lying of course.

"I renounce the Garo then," Aryn said.

"Selphie, have you witnessed this renouncement of the Garo?" Jiji asked Selphie.

"I have," Selphie replied.

"Kage, have you witnessed this renouncement of the Garo?" Jiji asked Kage.

"I have," Kage replied.

"Iggy, have you witnessed this renouncement of the Garo?" Jiji asked Iggy.

"I have," Iggy replied.

"Then by the power vested in me, I, Jiji, officially pronounce you, Aryn, to be not a Garo anymore," Jiji proclaimed.

"And that's it?" Aryn asked.

"That's it. You are not a Garo any longer," Jiji smiled at her sister.

"Good," Aryn said. Jiji laughed softly. "So… are you two really gonna get married?"

Jiji smirked slightly, "Now where did you hear that?"

"Well are you?" Aryn asked.

Jiji looked back at Iggy again and they shared a smile. "Yeah, yeah we are," she said.

"…I wish I could see it," Aryn whispered.

"…I wish you could too," Jiji replied. Aryn smiled at her and inhaled sharply, closing her eyes in pain. Jiji squeezed her hand, but Aryn's eyes didn't open. She put two fingers to her neck and fortunately found a pulse. She stood up and turned to her friends. "We can_not_ let her die," she said.

"Jiji, we have no idea how to help her or stop the bleeding," Selphie said.

"The professor even tried stitching the wound closed," Kage added. "It just didn't work."

"I don't care. We have to save her," Jiji said.

"But how?" Iggy asked.

"…I don't know…" Jiji said pensively. She lowered her head in thought. Something on Kage's hand caught her eye. There was a large bandage. "Kage… what did you do to your hand?" she asked.

"This?" Kage asked, holding up his hand. "Oh, well first I cut my finger chopping cloves and then I burned it on the pan. Selphie was making fun of me, calling me the Bay Dragon."

"The Bay Dragon?" Jiji asked.

"Yeah, you've probably heard that fairy tale," Selphie said. "That's the one where the dragon was attacking the Great Bay Gerudo, so their leader chopped off its head."

"Oh, yeah! And the head grew back again and again, multiplying until there were eight, right?" Iggy picked up. "And she finally thought to use hot metal plates to chop off the heads so the flesh would burn and not be able to grow back."

"But the long necks and heads lived on under the sea and became the eight deep pythons," he and Selphie both finished.

"I remember that, it was classic," Iggy finished. Jiji's eyes were wide. "Jiji, what's the matter?"

"We're going to make Aryn into a Bay Dragon," Jiji said. They stared at her in shock. "Oh, I'm not cutting off her head! I meant, why don't we use a hot piece of metal to burn her wound closed?" she asked.

"You know, that just might work," Kage said, heading out the door and down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Jiji, you might just save Aryn afterall," Iggy said, firing a fire arrow into the fireplace.

"We can only hope," Jiji replied. Kage returned a few seconds later with several iron utensils from the kitchen. "We'll have to get those nice and hot, and quickly so we can do it while she's still asleep." They nodded and Iggy and Kage went to work heating the tools. "Selphie, can you get me a washbasin to clean her wound before we do this?" Jiji asked.

"Absolutely," Selphie said, hurrying down the stairs. Jiji pulled back the quilts over her sister and revealed the blood-soaked bandages. Then, very carefully, she removed those bandages to reveal her sister's bloodstained torso, stomach wound still bleeding. She realized suddenly that she'd had a wound very similar to this when she and Iggy left the Garo. Selphie returned a few seconds later with the washbasin. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you," Jiji replied as the two cleaned the wound.

"We're all ready," Iggy announced from the fireplace.

"Good, bring them over, one by one," Jiji said. Iggy picked one up and walked over. Jiji took it, hand trembling slightly.

"…Would you like me to do it, Jiji?" Selphie offered after a moment.

"No," Jiji shook her head. "No, I can do it." She leaned over her sister and slowly touched the metal to her skin. Aryn gasped in her sleep and started to contort her body, but Iggy and Selphie held her in place. Jiji almost didn't want to continue but pressed the iron against the little girl again. Each time, through each piece of metal Aryn squirmed, but Jiji pressed on. And each time she pressed on, the flesh burned and the wound closed.

When Jiji had reached the end of the wound, it bled no more. They spread a healing salve over it and bandaged it once more, feeding her a potion the professor had given them to help her produce more blood, but they were confident their mission was a success. Aryn continued to sleep as they left the room.

"I think she's going to make it," Kage said.

"I think so too," Jiji agreed. She and Iggy went to sleep on the couch about half an hour later, and Kage and Selphie watched Aryn through the day and night, though they took turns sleeping.

None of the former Garo woke until the next morning, at which point, the youngest of the three had regained the color in her cheeks and an appetite in her stomach. Her wound had not reopened. The Bay Dragon would live.


	23. Chapter 22

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, Jiji, and Aryn. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

* * *

Chapter 22

"Okay then, drink the potion," Jiji said, handing a red potion to her sister.

"Jiji, I'm fine! I don't need anymore of those nasty things," Aryn protested, not taking the mug.

"You're not quite fine yet," Jiji replied, putting the mug in her sister's hands. "You sustained a very serious wound, and you need to take this for the next few days." Aryn groaned. "How about this? If you don't take the potion, you can't have the food Selphie made for you."

"Fine!" Aryn said, lifting the mug to her mouth. She gulped it down and when she'd swallowed it all she grimaced. "I hate that stuff!"

"Don't we all?" Jiji answered, moving the tray of food to her sister's lap. Aryn immediately attacked the food, eating hungrily. "Slow down, you're going to choke."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you'd been the one with a stomach wound," Aryn said.

"…As a matter of fact, that's what I supposedly died of two years ago when the two GITs came after me and Iggy," Jiji said. "I was fortunate, however, to have been dumped in a river and nearly drown shortly thereafter, so there was little circulation to cause a bleeding problem. If not for that, my scar would be exactly identical to yours."

Aryn listened in silence. Afterward she ate more slowly. "So… what's going to happen to me now?" she asked finally.

"Well, you're certainly not going back to the Garo," Jiji said. "And you're not quite old enough to wander the countryside on your own."

"Will I be living with you and Iggy then?" Aryn asked.

"What makes you think we want you around cramping our style?" Both sisters turned their heads to see Iggy at the door with a smirk on his face.

"Charming," Jiji rolled her eyes.

"What you see is what you get," Iggy said, walking over and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I'll remember that," Jiji said. "Now, may I ask what that is?" she requested, pointing to the goblet in his hands with steam rising from the rim.

"Gift from our friendly neighborhood Big Brother of the Gorons," Iggy said.

"Lava juice," came the voice of said Big Brother from the door. Aryn looked over at him.

"…Whoa…"

"I heard about the incident and thought I'd do my part," Darunia said, smiling down at them.

"How thoughtful," Jiji said, taking the goblet from Iggy and placing it on the nightstand next to Aryn.

"…Thank you," Aryn said. She took another bite of her food. "So… where am I going to stay?"

"Well, we've all been discussing it," Iggy said. "And we've come up with several options."

"Okay?"

"The first thing is that you're going to stay here until you're well enough again, and after that you'll come live with us," Iggy said. "We have a room that would have been mine, but we never got around to using it."

"Too much information," Aryn wrinkled up her nose. Jiji smacked Iggy lightly on the arm.

"Anyway, at some point we'd like to give you the option of moving around among several of our friends so you get a feel for what you like," Jiji continued. "I know Link and Yugi are ready to take you in at some point. They have plenty of room. Selphie and Kage don't mind having you here some time, and I'm sure Darunia-."

"Would be far more than happy to have you visit Goron City," Darunia put in.

"What do you think?" Jiji asked.

Aryn mulled it over. "That sounds neat… but I wanna stay with you guys for a while," she said.

"That's what we intended," Jiji said.

"Then I'm all for it," Aryn said.

"Good then," said Jiji. "This being the case, Iggy and I need to be heading home."

"You're leaving me?" Aryn asked.

"Only a few days," Jiji said.

"Unless you'd rather your room be filled with all kinds of junk when you come with us in about a week or so," Iggy added.

"Okay…"

"Don't worry, Selphie and Kage will take care of you," Jiji said. "Darunia's going to stay here to help them, and everyone is on call in case something happens."

"Not that it will," Iggy added.

"Right."

"Okay, then…" Aryn said. Jiji leaned over and kissed her sister on the forehead and Aryn pushed her away.

"We're gonna go now so that we won't be getting home at midnight," Jiji said. "Don't give them any trouble."

"What am I gonna do?" Aryn asked sarcastically.

"Just behave yourself," Jiji repeated. She stood up and she and Iggy started out the door.

"See ya later, kiddo," Iggy called back.

When they were gone, Darunia and Aryn glanced at each other. "So, you gonna try that lava juice or not?" he grinned. Aryn nodded and lifted the goblet.

Iggy and Jiji made their way through the Lost Woods. The sun had already set and the full moon was high in the sky. The air was warm, but a soft breeze blew through them. Even the fairies had emerged and allowed their delicate lights to glow in the trees and grass, reflecting off the dew and making the grass shine.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jiji said. Iggy looked over at her and she pointed up at the trees where the fairies hung like lanterns.

"Not as beautiful as you," he replied, smiling at her. She smiled back at him.

"Well… I'm sure you could find more effective and less cliché means of flattering me," she said, casting a mischievous grin his way.

Iggy took her hand and halted their stride. "And I'm positive I could," he said. "…I remember wanting to use the forest in the daytime because I thought it reflected you well. It's bright, full of life," he said. They made their way over to a large stone and Iggy sat Jiji upon it, crouching beside her. "It was beautiful, the way the sunlight filtered down through the leaves, turning the whole forest into an emerald dome." He put his finger right next to her right eye.

Jiji smiled at him. "Iggy, that's beautiful… but it's not daytime anymore," she whispered, taking his free hand in hers. He smiled right back.

"I know, which got me to thinking," he said. He stood up and gestured to their surroundings. "The forest is beautiful at night too. It's mischievous and calm. Whereas the sunlight accented the green, the moonlight casts silver and azure. The once emerald dome, under cover of night, camouflages itself; it takes the alias of a sapphire bubble." He took his finger and placed it under her left eye.

Smiling, Jiji commented, "The forest _is_ lovely, isn't it? You just can't change that fact." Iggy looked down at her and kneeled in front of her.

"No, you can't," he said. "You can view it in as many different ways as you like, it can have as many sides as it pleases… but it will always have a bravura all its own." He cupped her face in his hands.

Jiji closed her eyes, placing her hands on his.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about the forest anymore…?"

"Perhaps because we're not…"

"Then what _are_ we talking about… exactly…?"

Jiji opened her eyes and gazed down into Iggy's. Iggy gazed right back into her eyes; her two mismatched eyes that, although they were as different as day and night, both sparkled from tears and fairy light. Slowly, he guided her face toward his and they met for a moment before parting again.

He let go of her and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the small black box he had purchased over a month ago. The small black box that he couldn't withdraw the day he purchased it, didn't get the chance to withdraw the day in the field, almost destroyed the contents of that night, and decided to put off displaying the morning in the jail cell. He held out this very box and opened its lid revealing a simple gold ring with a single diamond embedded in it.

"…This is what I'm talking about," he said, taking the ring out and then taking her left hand in his, sliding the band onto her finger. Jiji stared at the ring for a moment before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Iggy's neck. He placed his around her as well, helping her to the ground in front of him and holding her close.

"Will you marry me, Jiji?"

"I'll marry you, Iggy."

* * *

This marks the end of the prewritten story. Anything that I may post after this will have a decent author's notes because it will have been far more recently written. Anyway, that's all for now. I'm not too worried about any of this because as of yet no one has to review the other two stories except for three people, only two of whom I think actually read all the way through, and one of whom doesn't count because she probably didn't read all the way through when she reviewed because she read it as I wrote it. Whatever. KIT & KIR anyone who makes it this far. Out. 


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